


Beneath This Mask

by Jude_Rigby



Series: Beware Of Darkness [15]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Birthday, Crime, Drama, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:00:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 175,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude_Rigby/pseuds/Jude_Rigby
Summary: Castle and Beckett are called in by the mayor to assist the police looking into a serial killer targeting single women in the Hamptons. At the same time their personal relationship threatens to interfere with their investigation of the case as they try to find the killer before more lives are put at risk. Fifteenth in the Beware of Darkness series.
Relationships: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Beware Of Darkness [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006014
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue- When You Hit The Ground

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this story is a lyric from the song I'm a Loser by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album Beatles for Sale. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Mysterious Ways by U2, from their album Achtung Baby.

The floor was wet, sticky underneath the woman as she was sliding almost through the liquid, trying to get to it. Her breathing was echoing in the room and it sounded as if she was gurgling and hissing at the same time. She managed to reach the desk before she could think about the pain that was inching closer into her consciousness, threatening to take over. She tried to stand but found herself collapsing before she could get up further than her knees. But in doing that she got the desk knocked to its side and glass and plastic came crashing down around her as she moaned in pain without realizing she was giving voice to it.

Her cell phone, what she'd been reaching for, was there in the middle of the debris and she slid it to her, not caring about the blood that smeared all over the screen as it turned on.

" _911, do you need police, fire_ -" the dispatch said at the other end when they picked up the woman's call.

"Help," the woman said, her voice sounding thick as the coppery tang of blood filled her mouth.

" _Do you need paramedics ma'am_?" the man asked, concern in his tone.

"Yes! He killed me, he tried…" the woman started to say.

" _Hold on ma'am, tell me your address so we can send paramedics to you_ ," dispatch said quickly.

Giving that, the woman whispered, "I told him… there was no use… no time… They're not going…"

" _Please calm down, help is on the way right now, just hold on_ ," dispatch said as he could hear the rising panic coming into her voice as she'd tried to speak. He heard her crying on the other end and quickly said, " _Ma'am? Can you tell me your name? Keep talking to me_. _Or just make a noise so I know you're there._ "

"It's… Su…san," the woman replied.

" _Susan, I'm Theo, can you tell me how you were injured?_ " dispatch asked then, trying to keep talking to her to keep her conscious.

"It was long… it was… hurts…" the woman mumbled.

" _Is there a way for you to stop the bleeding?_ " dispatch said, on the edge of his seat at the 911 call center.

"I… hands," the woman sighed, feeling the blood spilling over her lips. "Tastes… bitter…"

" _Try and put some pressure on the wound if you can Susan_ ," dispatch instructed. He heard a heavy groan at that and guessed that she'd done what he'd suggested. " _Susan?_ " he asked. " _Can you tell me any more about your killer?_ " checking at the same time to see where the ambulance sent to her house was.

"He was… tall… said… loved me…" the woman sighed wetly.

" _Susan, did you know his name? What was his name?_ " dispatch said. He held his breath when there was no answer, the time stretching out for what felt like hours instead of the minute it was. There was a slight grunt on the other end, and he said, " _Susan, stay with me alright, they're nearly to your house._ "

"He was saying it was… them," the woman gasped out.

" _Please, tell me his name if you can_ ," dispatch begged as he knew what the sound from her meant.

There was a hash, wet sound then; in and out breathing that was an obvious struggle to the woman. Blood was splattering against the screen of the cell phone as there was a final exhalation and it stopped. The sound of plastic clattering to the floor nearly overwhelmed the voice of dispatch on the other end, urgently trying to contact the woman lying motionless next to the phone as her blood began to pool around it.


	2. Your Day Breaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song For No One by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album Revolver.

Looking up as he heard footsteps coming towards him, Castle said, "Are you two ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah, we're hungry," Julia replied. She smiled as she looked at her little sister who was turned around looking back at the hall and said, "So is Eliza, but she's waiting for Mommy."

"I'm here, someone wanted to get their horse out to the pasture down here this morning," Beckett said as she came from the stairs to the hall. "We'll be out in a second," she said as Eliza followed her to the family room.

When her mother had set her hobby horse against the wall, the toddler kissed its nose and said, "Eat breakfast now," a little sternly.

Smiling, as she could almost hear Castle in the back of her mind saying their youngest sounded exactly like her, Beckett went over to Eliza and took her hand saying, "He will. Now, as for you…"

"Mommy?" the toddler asked as her mother was leading her over to the kitchen.

"Yes?" Beckett replied, looking down at her.

"How long now?" Eliza replied.

"Until our birthdays," Julia piped up; having heard them.

"Twelve days," Castle said, looking over from the coffee machine at them.

"You're keeping count now too?" Beckett teased him as she picked Eliza up.

"Well, that's going to be a big day, the three of us turning another year older," Castle said. "But you're already nine now of course," he said, nodding to Julia who smiled at that.

Beckett said, "I know, it's hard to believe, next year you're going to be ten."

"Yeah, but that's still a pretty long time Mommy," Julia said in a matter of fact tone as she went with her to the table. "I'm happy being nine now."

"You enjoyed your birthday right?" Castle asked.

"Oh, yes I did!" Julia said excitedly. "Getting to ride with you in the morning and then having a sleepover with Mari and Dawn, that was the best!"

"And presents!" Eliza cried. "With 'lexis, Gram and Grandpapa."

"She's right, that was nice too," Julia said, having received a new equestrian outfit from her entire family that day. Since she celebrated her birthday officially on the thirty-first with her father and little sister; at Castle's suggestion and her complete agreement; she got her regular gifts then. "But I can't wait to get to celebrate with everyone."

"I'm sorry we're not going out for Spring Break next week," Beckett said as she set Eliza into her high chair. "But once she's three, we should be good to go anywhere."

"I hope so, since we're supposed to in the summer," Julia said. "Mommy, Daddy has your coffee," she said, smiling widely as she looked over and saw that Castle did have a cup in hand.

Turning to him, Beckett smiled at the sight of the Celtic knot he'd managed to trace through the foam and she said, "St. Patrick's Day was this past Saturday."

"Oh I know, but there's no need to relegate knots to one day a year," Castle said. "Especially when you're as Irish as we are." He laughed when his wife; after setting down her mug for the girls to see; pushed at him before he was having to catch up with her as she cupped his face in her hands, kissing him deeply. He groaned in pleasure for a quick moment and then hurriedly responded.

"We should hurry," Beckett told him as they looked at one another once they'd managed to part.

"Yeah," Castle said, nodding his head hurriedly before he followed her to the kitchen to get the plates with the pancakes and scrambled eggs he'd made.

"Julia," Beckett said after they'd been eating for a while.

"What?" the little girl asked.

"You're doing the Flamenco under the table," Beckett said, smiling at her. "You should probably wait to do that in your class."

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking of the steps in my mind," Julia replied quickly. "We're going to dance in costume today."

"Does that really help Ms. Grey figure out who to choose for competitions?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, 'cause you have to dance in heavy dresses for that," Julia said in a matter of fact tone. "We're lucky though that it's not the Flamenco dresses that have all the ruffles, those are heavier I think."

"Think we should go?" Castle asked his wife.

"We can definitely try," Beckett said with a nod. "Eliza," she said, looking at the toddler next to her. "Keep eating okay?"

"Can I go to the water?" she replied.

"It's still raining," Beckett said simply, getting some eggs on her fork and handing it to Eliza.

"I think she wants to look for shells," Julia commented.

"Sure we couldn't start her on a hobby?" Castle asked his wife. "She will be three."

"Like what?" Beckett asked simply.

"She couldn't begin the basics of horseback riding?" Castle asked. "With us," he said quickly as Beckett looked at him in slight exasperation as it wasn't the first time they'd talked about that. "On a pony."

"Thank you fragmented sentence man," Beckett sighed. "And I was thinking about that myself." She then looked at their daughter and seeing that Eliza was watching them interestedly said, "We could but she needs to turn three first and by that I mean we need to wait for warmer weather."

"You're lucky," Julia said, smiling when her sister looked slightly confused by how their mother had worded that. "Mommy didn't help me when I was that little."

"That was more because we lived in the city at the time," Beckett said quickly as she and Castle got up to start clearing the table since their daughters were finished.

"Come on you two, time to clean up, get your shoes on and make sure your backpacks are ready to go," Castle said as he got Eliza out of her high chair. He watched them walking down the hall before he went to Beckett who was drying her hands saying, "You want to write today?"

"What else were we going to?" she asked, smiling as she knew he was teasing her.

"Could go out for a ride," Castle suggested.

"Yeah, you remember when we did that last time, how muddy we got?" Beckett said as it had only been the week before. They'd had a thaw and having been unable to ride their horses since before Christmas they'd taken the chance and had ended up having to scrape off the mud that clung to their clothes after; luckily they'd come clean even with the sheer amount of the muck.

"The shower we took after was nice," Castle said as she stepped up to him.

"We need to write Rick," Beckett said, kissing his cheek before she led him to the entry. "Are we all set?" she asked absently, making sure the two had on their raincoats and boots for the walk to school. "Now, you two remember what your daddy and I talked to you about," she told them a little sternly, but careful not to make her tone so much so. "No jumping in puddles or not staying under your umbrella or running in the rain. Otherwise we'll just go in the car to school when it does, okay?"

"Yes Mommy," Julia and Eliza said together. They both giggled when Castle pretended to jump at that and the former said, "I told her you would say that."

"Then we're ready to go I believe love," Castle told his wife.

"Not us," Beckett replied simply. She and Castle then got their coats before he grabbed their large umbrella they'd both be using together since the girls had their own. "Now we are," she said, for their benefit since they were waiting at the front door after saying goodbye to Macca.

With Julia and Eliza ahead of their parents, the family walked to the Fosters next door, finding Rebecca standing in the doorway with a nearly two month old Dani bundled in her arms. "She's going on her own, David's already left," she called as Mari walked up to the sidewalk.

"How's Dani?" Beckett asked.

"She's doing great, I'll see you later," Rebecca replied. "Be careful Mari."

"Bye Mommy!" the little girl called. She turned to her friend then and took her hand before they looked at Castle and Beckett.

"Better not do that today," she told them with a slight smile. "Your hands will be freezing, and wet."

"I guess even with gloves," Julia sighed as she and Mari let go of each other.

"Yeah," the little girl replied, laughing softly. "So how did your book report go?"

When they'd reached the school shortly after, Castle and Beckett ushered the girls inside the building, heading to Eliza's class where Julia and Eliza hugged each other, promising to see one another at recess.

"Now Daddy?" the toddler asked as Julia and Mari headed down the hall on their own.

"In two days," Castle said, knowing she was asking about when he would come in to her class to read to them. "But for now we should get you inside," he said, taking her raincoat and umbrella before he followed her and Beckett inside.

"Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett," Mrs. Hughes said, at the small closet. "Everything wet goes here," she said.

"Are you warm sweetie?" Beckett asked as she held Eliza's hand while she was wiping her feet dry.

"Yeah, you too Mommy?" the toddler said, looking up at her.

"Very. Okay, we hope you'll have a great day of course. And if we can we'll come pick you up," Beckett said. "Or Vivian if we have to go for a case."

"I know," Eliza said simply, smiling when her mother did so at her response. "I hope you come."

"So do we," Castle said firmly.

Going up on her tip toes, Eliza shared a kiss and hug with her mother before going to her father, hugging him. "Hope you have fun Daddy," she told him after they'd shared a kiss.

"So do I," Castle replied, smiling at that. He squeezed her one last time and then watched her go over to some of her friends at a kitchen play set. "I really hope they'll want to listen," he told his wife when they were out in the hall.

"If it's a good book then yes," Beckett replied, seeing Julia was hurrying towards them. "But don't read one of yours… or ours."

"I'd likely be kicked out of the school if I tried that," Castle said, smiling slightly at her. "Mari's all set?"

"Yeah, I'll see her at recess," Julia said. "Is it weird I do that?"

"I don't think so; her parents said goodbye to her already didn't they?" Beckett asked, knowing she meant the fact that Rebecca and David weren't there to take their daughter into her class.

"She said they did," Julia said as they headed up the stairs. "And that her parents are busy today, Dani was up last night."

"Then you're helping them out making sure Mari gets to her class," Castle said, once they'd reached Julia's. "Alright, so we'll come get you-"

"Or Vivian if you have a case, I remember," Julia said quickly. "But I really hope it's you."

"That's what your sister said," Beckett said with a smile as she watched her husband and their oldest share a kiss before Julia came to her. "But we'll try," she promised.

"Thank you," Julia replied, laughing slightly when her mother gathered her in her arms. Sharing a kiss with Beckett, she then said, "Have fun writing."

"She's psychic," Castle said.

"No I'm not," Julia said in mock exasperation. "I heard when we were getting ready while you were in the kitchen."

"Then I retract my statement," Castle said quickly.

Shaking her head, Beckett said goodbye to Julia with him as she went into the classroom and she turned saying, "Should we start?"

"I think we should, she wants us to write," Castle said.

Laughing softly as he took her hand, Beckett went with him down to the doors and waited for him to shake open their umbrella before they started on their way home. Once in the entry she said, "Are we going ahead with wrapping up the case?"

"Yeah, we should," Castle said.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked, seeing the slight grimace on his face as he spoke.

"No, nothing," Castle said quickly. "Just thinking about where we left off."

"Are we in trouble there?" Beckett said, following him to their office once they'd gotten their coats hung.

"I don't think so," Castle said, not realizing that he sounded distracted. Shaking himself as they stepped into the room he said, "Okay so we're having this shootout, who's getting hurt, no one? Moor? Green?"

"I think we should hold off on injuries," Beckett told him, sitting at her computer as he sat next to her. She waited for hers to turn on before going onto the document that held their story. At the end where they'd stopped writing the week before, she glanced at the second to last paragraph and said, "Wait, when did you do a rewrite?" as she realized that it was completely different from what she'd written.

"What do you mean?" Castle asked, not looking at her.

" _The floor was silent, only the insistent ticking of the clock echoed as it mingled with the heels of Green's boots as she walked to the door._ I never wrote that," Beckett said, sounding irritated. "Why did you change it?" She got no answer, and she finally snapped out, "Castle!"

"Because it was horrible," he answered impatiently, his tone of voice matching hers as he couldn't stop himself, the frustration in him building suddenly. "There was no sense of place or the fact that they'll be in an empty office building. I could have written your paragraph in second grade. It had no place in the book."

"You've never said anything about my writing before this," Beckett said after staring at him for a moment, feeling as if she'd been slapped in the face with that. "And because of one paragraph you think I can't write."

"I didn't say that," Castle hurriedly protested, nearly gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"No, no, you said it," Beckett told him as she stood. She started to walk away and then turned back to him saying, "Look, I know when we started this together I wasn't going to be that good but have you ever thought I was? Do you not want me to write with you anymore now I'm finding you going back and correcting a lot of what I've been writing for this book?"

Castle knew he should answer that question but there was something in his mind that made him instead look away from her. When he heard her sharp intake of breath, he winced, turning back to try and apologize when she cut him off before he could.

"Okay, so… I guess I'll leave this to you," Beckett said, trying to fight the sting at what she took as his answer in his silence. "Since of course, I'm only here at your invitation." She turned to the door and nearly started to stride out of the room when her phone began to ring. "Beckett," she snapped once she'd answered it.

"Kate?" Brad asked in confusion.

"Yeah, sorry, I just… is there a case?" Beckett asked.

Watching her, Castle waited slightly anxiously then as he knew he really needed to apologize after what he'd said. But before he could do so, she was talking again, making him irritated.

"There's been a murder, at 1543 North Woods Avenue," Beckett told her husband. "And David's asking for us this time around. Do you want to go?"

"I don't need to write," Castle said, losing his desire to make amends as her tone was short and ill-tempered. "Neither of us needs to," he muttered as he got up to follow her out of their office.

* * *

"Castle, Beckett," the chief said as the pair came out of their car then, down the street from the house where their crime scene was. He winced when he heard the slam of the car doors and said under his breath, "That's not good."

"What's with this murder?" Castle asked when they had reached him. "That David asked for our help. A strange one?"

"Not exactly," Brad told them. "But before I take you inside, are you two doing okay?"

"We're fine, why?" Beckett asked.

The chief wanted to comment on the fact that they were standing about two steps apart instead of normally right next to each other and the fact that he could see they were holding themselves tensely. But instead of trying to comment on that; since it had little to do with the case; he sighed and said, "Alright, just… please try and help me with this investigation," before he turned and led them down the sidewalk to the house. There were some people outside the yellow tape, but only a few, one a member of the media.

"Chief Davis, is Mayor Foster worried about this case? Is that why he called your consultants in?" the reporter asked.

"I can't comment on that Barry, you'll have to wait for any statement the PD releases," Brad replied. He waited until they were inside the foyer of the home with the door closed on the small crowd out front before he turned to them saying, "It's partially our vic and partially something else if you're wondering why David asked for you two."

"Any other information or is that all we're getting?" Beckett asked in surprise as Brad started to walk away. She nearly glanced at her husband but stopped herself, hurrying after the chief as she heard Castle following her slowly.

"This is Susan Lipscomb-" Brad started to say as he led them into the kitchen where the body was.

"She's on the town council," Castle interrupted him. "No wonder David asked for us to help you." He looked at his wife but when she turned away he shot a glare at her back and then glanced down at the body. "There's a lot of blood, how'd she die?" he asked as he couldn't see any discernible wound as the body was on its stomach.

"We're getting her onto the stretcher right now," the ME, Thayer said. "Meanwhile, the hell is going on?" he directed to Brad as he nodded to Castle and Beckett who were looking around the room at opposite ends.

The chief shook his head quickly and then asked, "Have you been able to get a time of death."

"Well, the call was made at about seven this morning, so-" Thayer began to say.

"Call?" Castle and Beckett asked at the same time.

"Yeah, the vic here was able to dial 911 on the phone in that space in her blood," Brad said, really confused at the two. He shook that away and said, "As far as we can tell from what we're seeing here she was wounded, got to the desk the phone was on, knocked it over and managed to call for help."

"What was on here that there's so much glass?" Beckett inquired as she saw the shards all over.

"Yeah, we're not sure, we're contacting her family; well, Hutchinson is," Brad answered. "And seeing if it was the phone or maybe something else she was getting to." He and Beckett moved out of the way of the ME and his assistants before they got the body in a bag. As he, Castle and Beckett stood next to it he eyed the two for a moment since they were standing so close together, he was sure an argument might break out between them.

"So she was stabbed," Castle said, not missing the slight exhale of breath from the chief but ignoring it. "By something thin…"

"Punctured lung?" Beckett asked, knowing her husband was about to suggest that. She was a little unsettled that they were still thinking similarly but pushed it out of her mind as she focused on Thayer who was looking between them for a moment.

"I would assume…" the ME said before looking at the tiny wound with a flashlight. He studied it for a moment and then nodded. "A small ice pick, drawn up at about a forty-five degree angle. Into the lungs."

"Something else?" Brad asked as the doctor hesitated for a moment.

"I can make a cast of the weapon but if she was able to actually talk to 911 then I believe it didn't enter too deep," Thayer replied.

"So she bled out slowly," Castle stated.

"I would be guessing, but it's likely she drowned in her own blood," Thayer said, nodding his head. "I'll take a look at this Chief and will get back to you with what I find."

Nodding as the ME and his assistant were getting the bag zipped up, Brad motioned for Castle and Beckett to follow him to the living room to the right of the front door. "This wasn't widely known to the rest of my station," he told the two. "Only Bernier and I do; and David. But there was another murder, last night and discovered early this morning."

"How was that not known to everyone?" Beckett asked, seeing Castle nodding in agreement out of the corner of her eye.

"The body was found in the woods surrounding an apartment complex on the edge of Southampton," Brad replied. "But the MO was the exact same, tiny puncture wound with the woman bleeding out."

"A woman? Was she assaulted?" Castle asked, sharing a glance with Beckett before they hurriedly turned back to the chief.

"No signs of that, but Thayer found signs of a struggle, bruising on her wrists and neck," Brad replied.

"Who was she?" Beckett said.

"Misty Keane," Brad said. "She was a receptionist for a lawyer in Old Westbury, a criminal attorney."

"So no ties to the city government," Beckett mused. "Any ties here to the Hamptons? Does she even live here?"

"She does," Brad replied. "At the complex where she was found outside of. I managed to speak to her family and friends and despite them saying she was beginning a new relationship they have no idea who the guy was, she kept it to herself."

"Her age?" Castle asked.

"Thirty and you know that Councilwoman Lipscomb was thirty five," Brad replied.

"They're not similar in appearance though," Castle said. He saw that his wife and the chief were both looking at him at that and he explained, "It means he's likely attempting to appear a serial killer."

"For what purpose?" Beckett asked.

"Well, a few things," Castle replied, looking thoughtful. "One could be a conspiracy targeting the government of the city."

"And the first victim?" Beckett asked with a sigh as Brad shifted on his feet slightly at that.

"To distract us," Castle answered simply. "The main target was Lipscomb of course, but killing her second masks their motive of course; especially since the women are slightly similar in a few ways."

"I think it's more likely it's a regular serial killer," Beckett said. "And his type of victim isn't a set kind."

"David's more concerned with that idea," Brad said.

"Just trying to help," Castle said as he was looking at his wife.

"Alright, we should head back to the station, I need you two to see the crime scene photos from the first murder before we delve deeper into our second vic; get you up to speed," Brad replied.

"We'll meet you there," Castle replied. He and Beckett watched the man go before he turned to his wife and said, "Kate-"

"We should get there at the same time as him Castle," Beckett said simply.

Snapping his mouth shut at his name, Castle nodded and followed her out of the house and down to their car. He finally gave up with that and dreaded the investigation, knowing that his wife didn't even want to speak to him to try and resolve the problem lying so heavily in between them.

* * *

"We think that the killer lured her out there," the chief was saying as he set out some crime scene photos in front of them two hours after they'd arrived at the station; since they'd had to get things with the second vic situated first. "Because the amount of blood on the ground is consistent with her wound."

"What did a canvass turn up?" Beckett asked.

"No one heard any kind of screams, or calls for help," Brad said absently, reading something. "Any kind of noise that would have alerted them to what was going on."

"And that?" Castle asked, nodding to the paper in his hand.

"Toxicology, I was wondering about the lack of noise but nothing was found in her bloodstream," Brad replied. "No drugs, nothing unusual."

"Nothing to calm her down and make her more passive," Beckett said. "Which would explain the fight she put up considering two of her nails are hanging off her skin."

"But the lack of any kind of noise?" Castle asked her.

Not looking at him, Beckett said, "That is confusing."

"Well, let me get a map of the area, or an aerial picture, that would work better," Brad replied, hurrying out.

The office was in complete silence then as Castle and Beckett wouldn't look directly at each other, only glance out of the corners of their eyes. Finally she jumped up from her chair and went to the murder board that the chief had begun, reading what was there.

"Okay, sorry about not having this before, but with the other murder called in…" Brad replied.

"What about the 911 call?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time before they looked at each other.

A little startled when Beckett narrowed her eyes at her husband for a second, Brad sighed and said, "Great job you two are doing with that, just fantastic. I might have you stay for the case. As for the call, we're getting it right now; Enos is talking with the dispatch we'll hear on the call."

"I have to wonder," Beckett then said as the chief was putting up a picture, an aerial view of what she had to assume was the apartment complex where the first vic lived. "Did she drag herself away from the murder site, even if just a few inches?"

"We checked on that and no," Brad replied. "She was killed instantly. So we're thinking with our second vic he might have made a mistake."

"There was no way he was spooked off?" Castle asked.

Shaking his head as he was looking at the picture with a magnifying glass, Brad replied, "No one in the neighborhood heard anything around that time remember and of course no one was checking on her." He finally made an x on the picture in red and said, "I don't think anyone would have heard anything, she's too far from the building."

"Any windows facing that way?" Beckett asked, coming up to stand nearer the picture.

"Not a single one," Brad replied. "Not even a staircase with a window so someone going down could have seen." He sighed in frustration and then said, "I think of course our killer was aware of that."

"Of course. How would he have escaped?" Castle asked. "How far out do those woods go?"

"Far, unless he was a survivalist, he really wouldn't have been able to handle the exposure to the cold," Brad replied. "But no one can recall anyone going anywhere in the parking lot right here."

"Is that all for this murder?" Beckett asked when they were all quiet, just looking at the board.

"Yeah, I guess we should go ahead and look into Lipscomb," Brad said. He heard a sound coming from his computer and said, "That'll be the 911 call."

Going to the desk, Castle stood in front of it while Beckett went to stand behind the chief, watching as he opened the audio file. As they listened to the woman and dispatch speaking, they began to frown in varying degrees until finally it ended on the man calling to the vic and receiving no answer.

"I wish she'd had time to tell us his name," Castle said. He noticed his wife had her brow furrowed still. "What is it?"

Glancing briefly at him, Beckett then said, to both men, "What if she just had an alias from the new boyfriend? I know you'd still look into it but he might have thought this through enough."

"Yeah, that occurred to me," Brad said.

"Me too," Castle said quickly before he could continue, relieved to not see a reaction from his wife to that.

"Chief?" Hutchinson said then in the doorway. "The brother of your second vic is here, I put him in the first interview room."

"Thanks," Brad said. "Anything from our first vic?"

"There's a name that came up, Stan," Hutchinson replied. "But what that is to her, her friends had no clue. It was a name that the vic was mentioning several times but more as a friend. The woman I talked to said it was unlikely though they were just that, the way she talked about him."

"Thanks again Hutchinson, keep looking through and let me know what you might find," Brad replied. "So, Beckett-"

"I need to talk to him?" she asked, interrupting him.

"If you don't mind," Brad replied.

"That's part of my job description," Beckett said before she left the room. It literally was, since Brad had managed to get the town council to approve of a list of things she would be able to do working with the Hamptons PD besides being armed on the job. "Mr. Lipscomb," she said, opening the door.

"Oh, you're the writer… one of them… Kate Beckett," Lipscomb said, standing up when he saw her.

"That's him?" Castle asked, his voice sounding slightly strangled when he caught sight of the young, handsome man, shaking his wife's hand.

"Rick," Brad said sharply as he noticed his friend was starting to take a step to walk out of the office. "Close the doors and sit before I really send you home," he said. Once Castle had done that he said, "So you want to tell me about it?"

"As the chief or my friend," he asked, sitting down in front of the desk.

"A friend," Brad immediately said. "Must have been a hell of a fight for you two to be acting like this."

Breathing out in a sigh, Castle began to tell him what happened that morning when he and Beckett had started to write, a little startled when Brad interrupted him.

"You told her you as a second grader could have written what she did?" the chief said in disbelief.

"Not… yeah," Castle said, groaning as he buried his face in the palm of his hand. "I just…"

"And after that?" Brad asked. When Castle told him the rest of the story he shook his head and said, "You really screwed up."

"I'm aware of that," he replied brusquely. He then stood up and went to the murder board before saying, "But I've tried to apologize and-"

"Listen, I've had fights like these with Lily and it takes some time before we apologize to one another," Brad said. "What might help is if you don't try to aggravate her."

"Then I better head home," Castle replied, breathing out a mirthless laugh. "Since I seem to do that even when we're getting along."

"Just… try," Brad said quickly, standing up as he could see that Beckett was walking back to them. "Anything?"

"His sister was dating someone but his name was Simon," she replied. "But that was all he knew about the guy. Never met him and never really knew when exactly his sister was going out on dates with him."

"Was she ever threatened at any time?" Castle asked slowly, looking at her.

Walking over to the murder board Beckett shook her head and said, "He was pretty adamant that there was nothing out of the ordinary with her. The boyfriend was different but he never thought the guy was a threat."

"Great, thank you for taking care of that Beckett," Brad said. He then opened his mouth to speak when Castle raised his hand. "What?"

"I'm just wondering, the killer's name in both instances started with an s, nothing?" he said slowly.

"Coincidence," Beckett said shortly before he looked past her husband to Officer Bernier.

"Sir, you better see this, all of you actually," the man said. When they followed him to his desk he said, "Someone called this in, it just popped up."

Seeing that it was a social media site, Castle and Beckett were surprised to find a picture of the house of the second vic and underneath it a picture of the woods where the first vic had been found. In them both the bodies were being taken away by in body bags to the corner's van. When they saw the caption, _Two down, ? to go HPD_ , underlined several times, they said, "It's him."

"Did you try to trace this?" Brad asked immediately, his voice clipped.

"I've got our tech looking at it now, I'm not sure how long they'll take," Bernier replied.

"Can they get into the site without permission?" Beckett asked.

"They'll ask," Brad said. "Did you instruct them to contact me?"

"Yeah, I knew you'd want to hear first," Bernier replied with a nod.

Brad was about to speak when he heard his phone ringing and he jogged to his desk, picking it up. "Hello? They did… great, so now… that was the IP when it was posted? Fantastic, I'll owe you guys coffee," he told the person on the other end before hanging up. "That was tech, the site cooperated fully and they identified where the poster was when he placed those pictures. But it was on a delay posting so he's not going to be there now unfortunately."

"How much time, that picture on the top wasn't taken that long ago," Beckett said.

"It doesn't take that long to post," Castle said before he suddenly bit his lower lip, mouthing a sorry when his wife shot a glare at him.

Shaking his head, Brad said, "We'd better get going now, you two can follow me; you should grab us some lunch after we're done there."

Looking at Castle, Beckett didn't say a word as she then walked after Brad while he left. He let out a silent breath of air before he hurried to follow them, since he had the keys to their car.

* * *

Standing in front of the internet café where the crime scene photos had been posted, Brad watched Castle leading Beckett up to him and he glared at the two. "Before we go inside you both need to stop this, it's get ridiculous and it's going to jeopardize the case."

"We're fine Brad," Beckett said simply. "Let's go inside and see what we can get."

Though he couldn't believe that the two were suddenly fine on the short drive over, the chief didn't have the time to become a marriage counselor when he had to solve two murders. He nodded shortly and then went inside, going to the register in the back. "I'm Chief Davis," he said to the woman there, showing her his badge. "I'd like to speak with your manager if possible."

"Chief, I'm the manager, Matthew Goodwin," a man said, coming out from the back. "Please, come back to my office." He led the three to it and once the three were inside his office he said, "I'm not sure what exactly I can help you with, you didn't really explain why you needed to come to my shop."

"We're investigating a murder," Brad said, not surprised to see Castle and Beckett looking over at him at that. "And we discovered that a suspect posted pictures from the scene to a social media site, from here in your café."

"When was that?" Goodwin asked in shock.

"The person was here at about nine twenty," Brad said.

"When do you open?" Castle asked.

"At nine," Goodwin said hurriedly. "We have security cameras all over since we have computers and you can take a look at them, you have my permission." Standing up he said, "I'll take you now."

"Were you here when the café opened?" Beckett asked as they were going into another, smaller room.

"I was but I was back here looking at the books for this weekend, since I don't come in on Saturdays and Sundays," Goodwin replied. "Okay, this is pretty straight forward, it records and we have it… just in case," he said, shrugging and sounding slightly unsettled.

"Thank you," Brad replied before the man left and closed the door behind him.

"You're not going to ask for an alibi?" Castle asked his friend.

"Not yet," Brad said. "He's not a top suspect because he knows his cameras are recording."

"And if we don't see anything from them when those pictures were posted-" Beckett began to say.

"Then he could have tampered it himself," Castle said at the same time as her. He smiled slightly when Beckett looked over her shoulder at him; sitting in the chair next to Brad; but when she just turned back to the screen he closed his eyes briefly before his friend spoke.

"I wish tech could have told me which computer was used," the chief mused as he rewound the footage from where the manager had stopped it. He kept his eyes on the time before he then stopped saying, "This'll be it… damn it."

"I guess this place is popular," Castle replied, seeing there were five people on computers in the dining area.

"You need to ask if it's easy for users to delete the browser history," Beckett said as she stood up with the chief. They followed Castle to the door to the dining area where the manager was standing nervously, standing at attention when he saw them.

"Did you find anything?" Goodwin asked, looking uncertain if he wanted to hear the answer.

"There's something we need to know," Brad replied. "Is there any way the users at those computers can erase their browser history?"

"No, we have it set up so you need a code to be able to do that," Goodwin replied. "So if you want to look… you can of course, just let me know which ones and I'll ask the ones at them now to move." When the chief nodded to the door he rushed to open the door for them before slipping around the three. After being told the five computers; two of which were occupied; the manager went to the two people there. And talking to them quickly as he smiled he hoped he wasn't conveying anything was wrong before he stood back, nodding to the chief.

"You two take those," Brad said to Castle and Beckett. "I'll take this one. Remember the exact time and site."

Sitting down Beckett went onto the browser, waiting for the manager to show her the history. She scanned the page and said quickly, "I found it."

"Alright," Brad replied before he ran into the back of the café and to the security room. He looked at the person at the computer Beckett had been at and groaned saying, "I should have known."

"Would have been too easy," Castle said, watching as the person behind the screen kept their head down. "He knew he was being filmed," he commented as they went to another camera, at the entrance, and even then the man was facing away from the camera.

"He's even slightly hunched over; to hide his height," Beckett said, pointing to their suspect's back. "So last resort Brad."

"I'll take care of it," the chief said before he left them.

"Kate-"

"We better go," Beckett interrupted her husband before he could continue. She left the room, biting at her lower lip for a moment before she could hear his footsteps behind her. She was tempted to stop while they still had some privacy but when she glanced back at him and saw him looking angry, her own ire flared up again and she nearly stalked away from him out into the front of the café.

"Okay, so Kayla here saw the man at the computer when he came in, though only for a brief second," Brad told them when they'd reached him at the front counter.

"Can she remember him enough for a sketch?" Beckett asked.

"She does," Brad said. "I'm taking her in to the station now. You two grab us lunch, because right now we're going to need this sketch. And Bernier's taking care of finding out more about Lipscomb than we do already. I'll see you later," he said, looking pointedly at Castle.

Watching the chief leaving with the woman, Beckett looked at her husband, who looked hopeful before she looked away quickly and started to walk out of the café.

"Kate, hold on, let me…" Castle started to say as he rushed after her to their car.


	3. Down The Hill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) by John Lennon, from his album Mind Games.

Moving her fork through her salad, Beckett heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see that it was her husband. She turned back to her meal before she then heard the sound of the door to the break room closing. "What are you doing?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed.

Relived that she had at least spoken to him, Castle tried to ignore the tone of her voice and sat down at the table, opposite from her. "I think we should talk Kate," he said seriously.

"I don't think there's a point," Beckett said simply, standing up. "Like I told you before, everything that needed to be said has been."

"You… your lunch," Castle started to say.

"I'm not hungry," Beckett said, throwing the container away before opening the door and leaving.

Castle looked at the table in front of him and at the paper bag where his meal was and he could hear his wife talking to Brad dimly before he reached for it. He then tried to eat something, though he had to force the sandwich down as he found that he wasn't really that hungry either.

"So anything?" Beckett asked as she walked into the chief's office.

"Still eating lunch here Beckett," Brad replied, sighing when he saw her.

"You seem to be doing that a lot today," she said, sitting in front of his desk.

"What?" Brad asked, wiping his mouth before getting up.

"Sighing- what are you doing?" Beckett asked as she watched him walk around to the door, closing it and pausing there.

"I need to talk to you, nothing to do with the case," Brad replied as he turned away from the break room where he could see Castle was almost hunched over at the table. "But about yourselves."

"Castle talked to you," Beckett stated.

"Rick, remember? Your husband?" Brad said as he sat back down. When she didn't reply to that he sighed and said, "Would you rather talk to Lils?"

"No… that's alright," Beckett said. "If he told you the truth then there's not much I need to say."

"And you don't think he'd tell me the truth," Brad replied.

"I don't know… I don't know what's wrong with him, he's never had a problem with my writing before," Beckett told him.

"True, so that has to mean-" Brad started to say.

"There's something else going on," Beckett replied. When the chief nodded she sighed and then told him, "Most likely but I don't really want to talk to him, not right now. We've gone through so much and to hear him say that as if it was a flippant remark. And he was angry too…"

"He's hurting too Kate," Brad said. "I'm not siding with him," he had to add when she glanced at him. "I swear I'm not but you two like this does not work. Not for yourselves, not for your work here with us." He then paused and looking thoughtful asked, "Do your girls know about this."

Breathing out roughly as she hadn't even thought about Julia and Eliza, Beckett shook her head and said, "Do you want us to go home?"

"Not if you're going to be like this around your daughters," Brad said. He had to slightly smile when she opened her mouth to speak and said quickly, "I'm their unofficial uncle remember?"

"I remember," Beckett said, nodding then. "And I will talk to him; it just needs to be on my own time. Right now I feel like I could say something I'll regret if I don't take some time to calm down; it hurt pretty badly to hear him say that since I came to our writing because I didn't have much of a choice," she finally admitted. "Is there anything from the case?"

"Sending the picture of the man from the café to the second vic's friends and family," Brad said, glancing past her shoulder at Castle who'd managed to hear what she'd said judging by his guilty expression as he was standing in the open doorway. He then turned his attention back to Beckett and continued saying, "And a friend; the one that had seen them at the restaurant but wasn't sure of being able to help us with a sketch; confirmed that this was Simon."

"So that's been sent out?" Beckett asked.

"It has; nothing yet though and Wade is checking on Simons in the area," Brad replied. "Castle, I was just telling her about the sketch."

"I heard some of that, so he's Simon," Castle said as he picked up the copy of the sketch and attached it to the board.

"That would be him," Brad replied. "And I was just reading the coroner's report on our second vic, signs of a struggle again and bruising in pretty much the same places as the first vic."

"Any kind of clue that would help us?" Beckett asked.

"Not really but Thayer was right, the killer didn't stab her all the way through her lung," Brad said. "And looking at you both, you have the same idea as me don't you?"

"The second vic is our main target," Castle said first. "The first one was to get our attention."

"Though that doesn't make any sense," Beckett replied. "Did the two women have any sort of connection?"

"Not that we've found," Brad replied. "And we've asked wherever we could."

"Did you ever ask if she went to the town council," Beckett then said.

"She's right," Castle replied, seeing his wife look at him from the corner of her eye. "Lipscomb's been on it for a while now."

"We did look and it was just a problem with the apartment complex's last landlord," Brad said. "It was a straightforward case and before you ask we looked at the guy, he's seventy years old and lives in Florida as of two years ago. And he's still there at the moment; we checked."

"What about sons?" Castle asked.

"No, no kids," Brad replied. "Believe me, we looked. And we sent the picture of Simon to all our contacts for the first vic but… none of them saw Stan, so they don't know if that's the guy."

"No wonder the media's already calling him the Lothario killer," a voice said behind them.

"David," Beckett said with a brief smile. "Checking on the case?"

"I feel like I should," the mayor replied. "Since Susan was a great supporter of mine during the election. What do you have?"

Listening in as the chief went over what little they had, Castle sat in the chair next to his wife and glanced to her. She looked back at him but he wasn't too surprised when her gaze eventually moved away. He felt slightly more hopeful with that but it didn't get rid of the guilt gnawing at him at that point over what he'd heard her say about writing.

Beckett had been surprised not to see any kind of anger in her husband's look and she bit her lip for a moment. She still wasn't ready to go through their conversation again but she was slightly hopeful that he might want to get everything settled between them. But as Brad wrapped up their findings she pushed that aside, knowing it was not the time yet.

"So are you stuck where you are?" David asked. "Dead in the water so to speak?"

"Not exactly," Brad said, seeing Bernier approaching his office. "Come on inside," he told the man.

"I talked to the landlord of the apartment complex the first vic was killed outside of," the officer said. "And he let me know that there's a security camera on the side of the building where that forest is."

"The new or old landlord?" Brad asked.

"The new one," Bernier replied.

"Alright, I'm going to get in touch with Thayer, make sure we have everything set with the bodies before we move on," the chief said. "Beckett?"

"I can take a look at it," she replied quickly with a nod.

"Alright, David, I'll contact you later tonight for a quick update," Brad said. "If we have anything."

"I'll hope," the mayor said, shaking his hand quickly. He started to turn to leave before he paused and then said, "There was a reporter from the _Report_ out there in the lobby."

"For the murders?" Castle asked.

"And they know now it's more than one?" Beckett added.

"Yeah, it got slipped to the media," David answered. "Nothing much you can do about that. But no, this reporter actually wanted to talk to you two."

"Us?" Beckett asked in confusion, glancing at her husband.

"Yeah, he wants to profile your work here in the Hamptons," David said with a nod. "But I told him it wasn't the appropriate time; he might want to wait until you two were finished with the case you're currently working on."

"That would be better," Castle said.

David, watching his friends glancing at each other before quickly looking away, was a little surprised and he said to Brad, "Mind walking with me to the lobby? I need to head back, they're already talking about a replacement for Susan," rolling his eyes.

Going to their desk, Castle and Beckett watched the two men leaving and she whispered, "He's going to tell him about us."

"I know," Castle said, watching her then. She sat down at the desk and he stood behind her, not because he felt he had to but because he needed to.

"So, they'll be alright during this case won't they?" David asked, looking back at Castle and Beckett in the bull pen.

"They'll need some time," Brad said. He had told the mayor that the pair had had a disagreement, but not the details as he felt that wasn't his place. "But yeah, they're… just awkward right now. But they've been doing well with investigating," he said as he knew that was what the man was worrying about the most. "And I told them already that if it became a problem I'd send him home and then keep Beckett here on the case."

"Good threat," David muttered before he then turned back to the chief.

"I love that we have the parking lot but not the place where the vic was killed. What day is this?" Castle was asking as Beckett had pulled up the footage.

"It's last night," she replied, looking at the time stamp. "About two hours before the murder," she said before she fast forwarded it. Watching the scenery of the parking lots and then the little bit of trees that were visible in the footage she stopped it immediately when a figure slid into view. "There he is," she said unnecessarily.

"Yeah, on a bike… quiet," Castle said musingly. "So that would explain why no one heard anything."

"Especially that late at night," Beckett replied slowly as they watched him then disappear past the front of the building. She let it continue to play until they saw the killer coming out of the forest and climbing onto the bike, riding easily away. She made a note of the time that happened and then went back to the point where the bike was the most visible on the screen.

"Is that our killer?" Brad asked, coming around to look.

"It is," Castle said. "He rode a bike in, so that's why there was no noise for the witnesses to hear."

"And I know who's bike that is," Brad said.

"You do?" Castle and Beckett asked at the same, looking back at him in surprise.

"Yeah, Earl Moss," the chief said simply. "A local eccentric in Southampton, on the outskirts of town."

* * *

"Alright, thank you for playing nice on the drive here," Brad said to Castle and Beckett as they were going down the sidewalk to Moss' house.

"What are you talking about?" Castle said in confusion.

"We'll need to take a cab," Beckett said simply. When her husband looked at her she told him, "For him to bring in Moss."

"You should listen to your wife," Brad said simply. They reached the gate in front of the man's property and he said, "I'm not sure if he's violent or not right now. But just in case, I need my squad car empty."

"And why you didn't let us bring our car?" Castle asked.

"You see his land right? No trees, he'd see us coming and I've heard he's paranoid enough," Brad said before he pressed the button on the intercom in front of him.

"Yeah, I see you officer, the hell do you want?" a man with a surprisingly smooth voice barked out on the other end.

"I'm Chief Davis with the Hamptons PD," Brad replied. "My colleagues and I would like to speak with you about something. Mind if we come in?"

"You can talk to me through here," Moss grumbled. "What is it?"

"Mr. Moss," Beckett said, stepping up next to Brad. "We-"

"Wait… who are you?" Moss said.

"My name is Kate Beckett," she said, glancing at the chief.

"And that other guy… is that Richard Castle?" Moss then asked.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, stepping forward as Brad got out of the way.

"Alright, Chief," Moss said sarcastically. "I'll talk to them but no one else."

"Let me come in to the front door at least; I have to make sure of their safety, the mayor's request of course," Brad said, looking at Beckett. When he heard the sound of the gate unlocking he followed the two and whispered to her, "I'm only letting you go since I managed to give you your gun."

"I know and thanks for that," Beckett replied. She felt something cold in her hand then and looked down to see that it was a pair of handcuffs.

Going up the stairs to the porch, Castle watched as the front door opened and a tall, thin and slightly older man stood just inside the house. "Mr. Moss?" he asked.

"Yeah, come on in, we'll just stay here at the door," Moss replied. "Since Mayor Foster's worried about you." When they were inside with him he said, "You're looking into that lady's murder?"

Resisting the urge to look at her husband at that, Beckett said, "We are."

"You don't think I did it do you?" the man asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Could you possibly give us an alibi?" Castle asked slowly.

"Depends on when that is," Moss replied. When Castle told him the time the night before, he laughed slightly and said, "Yeah, that would have been great but I couldn't have left my house here."

"Your car was broken down?" Castle said.

"No, I don't have a car," Moss said simply. "You must not have heard about me, I'm green here and that means no car, composting… grow my own food too."

"So you ride a bike instead?" Beckett asked.

"Yep, but… couldn't do that last night of course," Moss replied. "Since it got stolen."

"It was, but you didn't report it," Castle said, that time sharing a look with his wife.

"That's because the next morning, when I would have, it was back," Moss said.

"Whoever stole it, brought it back," Beckett said slowly, sounding slightly disbelieving.

"Yeah, oh, can't prove that without something to see of course," Moss said. He then left them for a closet in the hall further back and said, "I have security cameras of course, I was debating on riding my bike to get to you to tell you that I have a guy on it taking it… but you can't see them besides their figure," as he pressed something on a screen and then pulled a USB stick out of a TV screen. "And I don't have a phone but I'm sure you knew that."

"We did," Beckett said, taking it from the man. "I'm wondering; do you know who this man is at all?" she asked, showing him the sketch of their current suspect that she'd taken a picture of on her phone.

"Hold on," Moss replied, reaching into the pocket of his shirt. "Need to see…" he said, putting on glasses before studying the sketch.

"He goes by either Stan or Simon," Castle said.

"Er… can't say I have," Moss said, still looking at the picture. "Sorry, is this the guy that stole my bike?"

"We're not sure," Beckett replied.

"But we'd like to find him," Castle then added.

"Of course, of course," Moss said. He then shook his head saying in amazement, "So it was true what it said in that article, you work well together."

Not looking at her husband at that, Beckett then asked, "Would you mind showing us your bike?"

"Yeah, I figured if you came, should do that," Moss said. "Oh, and of course, can't ride the evidence I'm sure," he added to explain. "Chief!"

Walking after them, Brad tried to get Castle or Beckett to explain what was going on, but he didn't get the chance as Moss began to tell him what he'd said to the two in his house. "You couldn't try to contact a neighbor to get in touch with us?" he asked when the man had finished.

"You have to know who I am already Chief," Moss said simply, unlocking the door of a shed. "When I saw this, just about started to dance but figured you'd likely take it. I'm right aren't I?" he then asked.

"Yeah," Brad said apologetically. "You didn't touch this did you?"

"Not at all," Moss assured him. "I knew that you'd want the jackass who stole it to be the last one that touched it."

"The Hamptons PD thanks you for your cooperation," Brad said, pulling on his gloves. He pulled the bike out and said, "I'd get a new one," to Moss.

"Yeah, I figured, was going to walk into downtown for that," the man said. He then hesitated and said, "Don't need to take me in right?"

"No, but stay in town for the time being," Brad told him before starting to push the bike.

"Oh, you know already about me Chief," Moss said in a slightly laughing voice. "You know I won't move except for that bike."

"Thank you," Brad said again before he walked out of the gate with Castle and Beckett. "You have an idea now?"

"Did you think he could be the murderer?" Castle asked.

"Not really, he's just a little strange," Brad said. "Not violent." When the two looked at him he said hurriedly, "Hutchinson texted me about his lack of a criminal record."

"Plus he doesn't look like the sketch," Castle pointed out.

"That too," Brad said before he unlocked his cruiser. "Now, the interesting part becomes getting this into the trunk…"

With Castle and Beckett's help, the chief had the bike covered with a tarp that was in the trunk, the pedals and handlebars in plastic bags. Sure that it was set with some rope, the three got inside and headed back to the station where a pair of CSU employees were waiting to transfer the bike to their headquarters, promising to contact Brad once it was searched thoroughly.

"Okay, so I'd like to look at the footage that Moss gave you," the chief said as he turned to them.

"Right here," Beckett replied. "He told you he just saw the figure but if he had more than one camera-"

"Especially if that one on the lamppost right outside his gate works," Castle hurriedly added.

"I might see the man's face," Brad finished. He nodded and said, "You two come with me." Inside his office he saw that there were a few papers on his desk and glancing at them briefly said, "Hold on, I need to take care of these." He picked up one and set it aside, the second he hurriedly read and the last he said, "Send this out Enos, that'll be all we tell them for now."

"Statement to the media?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah, have to tell them something now they know there's been two murders; one of them a part of the council," Brad said as he put the stick into his tower and watched the folder on it pop up. "We have more than one camera," he said though the two were behind them. "Oh, and another reason why I didn't feel much need to bring Moss in, he only thought there was one. But of course, we'll see right here if his alibi checks out."

Looking on the three watched the camera on the shed, seeing a figure that looked a little too short to be Moss open the door and take out the bike about an hour before the murder. They then watched a few other angles, all of them ending with Moss himself running out to the gate.

"This'll be it," Brad said then as he started the last recording. He watched as on the screen, the killer came out, but there was too much shadow for his face to be that visible. He swore under his breath as the killer got on the bike and then rode away, Moss coming up behind, obviously yelling before he too was swallowed by the darkness. "Well, we cleared him, but didn't get to see the killer's face," he said, turning around.

"No, but you do have a height now," Castle said. "Shorter than Moss and you."

Studying him for a moment, Brad nodded and said, "Yeah, that'll be about right, so let's say five ten to six feet even. It's a start." He stood up and said, "Should we get started on going through this again from the top?"

"Might as well, we need to wait for that bike," Beckett replied.

When Brad nodded to her at that Castle and Beckett joined him at the murder board and they began with what they knew of the first victim and her final hours after being lured out of her apartment that had been found to be undisturbed by CSU. They then went to the forest and proceeded there to lay out everything they'd found in the course of the day so far, filling in the board and its partner for the second murder though nothing was new to them yet.

* * *

Looking up at the knock on his doorway, Brad said, "The CSU report?"

"No sir," Wade said. "It's that reporter again, he's not leaving."

"He still wants to talk to them," Brad stated, looking at Castle and Beckett who had been at the two murder boards though looking over them separately.

"Yeah, he says he'll stay out in the parking lot until he can get his story," Wade said. "I threatened him with arrest but he just went to the sidewalk."

Groaning and rubbing his hand over his face, Brad looked at the two who had turned to him and said, "Could you maybe chase him off? One of you, I'm looking at you Beckett. Tell him you don't have time and you'll make an appointment for the future… or whatever gets him out of here."

"We can talk to him," Castle said, looking to his wife.

Looking up in surprise, Brad opened his mouth; intending to say that likely wasn't a good idea; but then closed it. "Kate?" he asked her carefully, studying her.

"No, he's right, we can," Beckett replied. When the chief looked slightly flabbergasted she said, "We're only going to talk about our work with you after all."

"Alright, but-" Brad started to say.

"Think you can tell us if the CSU report comes in… when it does," Castle then said as Beckett was putting on her red coat. "Also, where can we talk to him?"

"Wade," Brad said. "Is it still raining?"

"Yeah, he's standing out under an umbrella," the officer replied with a nod.

"Figures," Brad muttered. "Okay, so bring him in, take him to interview room one, get him some coffee," he instructed the young man before he nodded and left. "You two, I beg of you, on your best behavior and try not to make us look bad by arguing in front of this guy."

"I think we knew that already," Castle said as he glanced at his wife to see she was slipping her coat back off. "I…" he started to say.

Glancing at him slightly and then looking away, Beckett said to them both, "I need some coffee myself before this."

"It's a chance Rick," Brad said when they were left alone; keeping his voice low.

"No, it's too soon, you heard what she said, she was talking to you," Castle replied. "We'll be okay, talking to the reporter," he said, gesturing with his thumb. He was a little startled to see the slightly annoyed expression on his friend's face and asked, "What?"

"She's going to end up getting her own coffee," Brad said simply, a little sternly as well.

At that Castle was immediately shooting out of the office, hurrying into the break room where he saw his wife was making a cup of the strongest coffee that was there. "Hey, let me get that for you," he said carefully.

"Oh no, that's alright, I already started and I'm fine," Beckett said, pressing a button to start the machine brewing. She wasn't looking at him as she said, "Wade already came and went with a cup for Russell."

"That's his name," Castle said though he was a little disappointed she wouldn't let him make the cup for her.

"It's Lawrence Russell in fact," Beckett corrected him.

"It's… he was a sports writer," Castle said. When she nodded he groaned and said, "The same… wanker that called me a spider on a horse at the finals last polo season."

"Wanker?" Beckett asked, looking at him. But it was only a quick glance as the machine beeped in front of her and she was hurriedly getting the cup before taking a few sips as she watched her husband make his own. When they'd both finished; trying to give some time for the CSU report to arrive and delay the interview; she led the way into the room and said, "Mr. Russell, I'm Kate Beckett, we're sorry to have kept you waiting, we wanted to give you the chance to warm up after having to stand in the rain."

"I appreciate it, it's in fact snow now," Russell replied. "Well, sleet and then snow."

A little concerned at that, Castle and Beckett shared a look before he took his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry," he said quickly to the reporter. "We want to make sure our youngest daughter is alright."

"She's two?" the report asked, writing something down.

"She'll be three next week," Beckett answered.

"And she has the same birthday as you Mr. Castle?" Russell asked.

"She does but isn't this supposed to be about our work with the Hamptons PD?" he asked, looking up from the phone. Before the man could answer, his text alert sound played and he said quickly to his wife, "She's fine; Vivian just put her down for a nap."

Nodding, Beckett said, "I'm assuming you want a kind of back story?"

"I didn't really explain to the officer that tried to chase me off or the mayor either," Russell began. "But what I'd like to do is have a little background about you two at the beginning and then of course go into your work here in our community. So you both worked together when you were a detective with the NYPD," he said to Beckett. At her nod he then asked, "And you moved here to the Hamptons after resigning, after you became pregnant with your youngest daughter."

"That's correct," Beckett said, a little uneasy; wondering if he'd ask about that.

"And how was it that you got involved with the Hamptons PD in the first place?" Russell inquired.

Castle and Beckett explained their case with Chief Brady and how when they'd moved there, the man had asked for their help on another murder investigation.

"And you knew Chief Davis is that correct?" Russell inquired.

"He's an old school friend of mine," Castle said. "And, this probably has nothing to do with your article, but his wife's a friend of Kate's, an old school friend too."

"Interesting coincidence," Russell said, writing that down. "And you managed to work with him before Mayor Foster was elected."

"A few cases," Beckett said. "He had to get the permission of the previous mayor to do that."

"I would think that he'd be able to take the initiative himself," Russell said.

"It can be seen as a dereliction of duty," Beckett explained. "I'm not sure how, but something with a past chief led to that being implemented."

"And the mayor is your friend and neighbor, you investigated the case concerning his opposition in the election back in January," Russell said.

"We did but we're not really able to comment on that case," Beckett replied.

"Not without express permission from Chief Davis," Castle added; since that was a part of their agreement with the Hamptons PD they'd signed.

"Of course, so how do you find it being married and working together?" Russell asked them.

"It's like our writing," Castle said first, glancing at her.

"Which you're both successful at as well," Russell stated.

"I don't think it's so much being successful as being able to bring justice to the victims," Beckett replied. "Which is what a detective will want to accomplish."  
Smiling at that, Russell then asked, "You're not worried about being on this job and being in danger? You're both parents as well."

"It's a concern," Castle said.

"But we try and be careful when we're out in the field," Beckett picked up. "We're aware of what we have to lose, constantly."

Nodding at that, looking a little startled at the sudden intensity in her voice, Russell wrote down a few more things and then asked, "Would I be able to interview Chief Davis at all?"

"You might have to take a rain check on that," the man himself said before Castle or Beckett could reply. He nodded to the two saying, "I'm going to need my consultants back with me, I have some things we need to review."

"Of course, here's my card, I would love to have some comment from you to round out this article," Russell said, handing it to the chief.

"I'll give you a call when I can but I should warn you Mr. Russell; this case is going to take up a lot of my time," Brad replied.

"Whenever you're able to," the reporter said with a slight nod before he left the bullpen with Wade.

"So how'd it go?" Brad asked the two. "And yes, I'm asking subtly if you two behaved yourselves."

"Not that subtly and we were fine Brad," Castle said. "I told you we would be."

"And you're both… okay," the chief said, trailing off quickly when he looked back at them once he was inside his office and could tell that both of them were still awkward with each other. "That's neither here nor there at the moment of course," he said, trying to brush it off nonchalantly. "What is here is the CSU report on that bike," he told them, handing a file to Beckett.

"The bike was wiped clean, no surprise there," she said as she read, not surprised to feel her husband just behind her. "But… even the tires," Beckett said, looking up at the chief.

"Yeah, that was a surprise since the tire tread is shallow, not much is going to get caught on it," Brad replied.

"Piece of gum," Castle suggested; more out of a knee jerk reaction than anything else.

"And if it was it's long gone now," Brad said. "You noticed?" he asked, seeing Beckett turning a picture horizontally.

"Hard not to," she replied. "Dirt," she said, handing the photograph of the bike pedal to Castle though she was looking down in the file at the next one. "Did they analyze it?"

"They're doing that as we speak, it might take some time," Brad said. "But if you'll turn to the next page…"

"Some plant debris caught on the spoke," Beckett said, turning the page and seeing a shot of something thin and green.

"Fir tree?" Castle asked, looking at it as well.  
"Yep and I can tell you right now, there aren't any fir trees in those woods around the apartment complex, I checked before I came to you two," Brad replied.

"So he took the bike… somewhere else," Castle said.

"Because he didn't carry the weapon on him possibly," Beckett suggested.

"Most likely," Brad said. "And wherever he was, he got plants caught on the spokes and gears," he added quickly as Beckett was turning the page to another photograph that had a picture of the bike's gears.

"But since there's no sign of damage; scratches; he was pushing it through the foliage," Beckett said.

"And he also might have gotten mud on his shoes there, on the pedal," Castle said.

"Though that might be from the crime scene, it was raining last night and there was a dirt floor to the woods at the crime scene," Brad added.

"So we'll need the results from the dirt," Beckett said, closing the file and handing it back to the chief. "I'm wondering, anything foreign found in the second vic's house?"

"Some chunks of soil, so the killer obviously didn't change his shoes, but they were small enough to let me know he cleaned up enough not to leave tracks for us to find," Brad replied. He saw that Beckett was about to open her mouth and hurriedly told her, "Yes, they're looking at it too but it might take longer since the samples; the few we found; were so much smaller than the pedals."

"That doesn't bother you?" Castle asked. When the two looked at him he said, "He cleans up for the second crime scene but doesn't bother to clean the bike completely though he does a good job with every other part of it."

"You think he wants us to find him," Brad asked.

"A game?" Beckett asked, knowing where her husband was going with that.

"It would stand to reason," Castle said.

"I'm also thinking that he didn't realize he had that much mud on his feet from the first crime scene," Brad said.

"Do you know of any areas with that kind of fir tree?" Beckett asked after they were quiet for a moment.

"Not particularly, it's a balsam fir by the way," Brad said.

"Those aren't in this area, further north," Castle said. "Well, where they're native anyways," he said, shrugging.

"Yeah but you see them here and there," Brad replied. "Usually near streams in this area so we'll likely be focusing there."

"And do you have a map for that?" Beckett asked, watching him go to his printer behind him.

"I just had Hutchinson print it out here for me," Brad replied. "And luckily I know where the creeks are; called a geographer in the area. You know him Castle."

"Don? Yeah, he's local," he said to his wife. "And I've had him at past parties. Could he narrow it down to where the suspect is?"

"Well, to about ten streams," Brad told them. When he saw their startled expressions he nodded and said, "Yeah, I know, but at least it'll help out when we get the results from that dirt."

"Considering if the dirt isn't from the crime scene," Beckett pointed out as Brad put up the map on the third board that had been brought into his office while the two had been talking to the reporter.

"Okay, here's York stream-" the chief began.

"They're all named?" Castle asked.

"They are," Brad replied. "Early settlers did that and the names were kept since there wasn't much reason to change them. Okay, so York, Bridgeport, Green, Delta, Fox, Hamptons, Southampton, Westbury, Fire and Joyce. All of these have Balsam fir trees growing around them. Two of them are close," he said as he was marking with a red pen as he spoke. "So we can group them together."

"Will the dirt be different?" Castle asked, a little daunted by the sight of all the red lines on the paper.

"Oh, sure," Brad said simply with a slight nod, a little absently as well since he was looking at the paper.

Beckett was tempted to ask the man how he could be so sure about that, when the phone started to ring on his desk and they followed Brad back to it as he answered it hurriedly.

"Yeah, you're faxing it? And you have the number of a local pedologist? Fantastic, I appreciate the speed with this… right, goodbye," the chief said to the person on the other end.

"So they have it?" Beckett asked.

"They do, but they have no idea where the soil came from," Brad replied. "But we caught a large break; they had someone go out to take a sample from the first crime scene and it's not a match. So now I need to call this pedologist."

"That's a person who studies dirt," Castle told his wife.

"I knew that already," Beckett said, glancing at him with her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Oh, sorry," Castle replied.

Looking up at the two as he was dialing the number on his phone, Brad shook his head when they turned to him. He didn't have a chance to say anything though as the person on the other end was picking up. "Dr. Wells?" he asked.

"This is she," the woman said.

"This is Chief Davis, from the Hamptons PD-" Brad replied.

"Oh, of course, I was told you needed to consult with me about something," Wells replied. "About a case?"

"It is," Brad said before turning to the printer where the results of the soil test were. "I have my consultants, Mr. Castle and Ms. Beckett with me; they might ask questions as well. Did you manage to get the results?"

"I did and looking at them I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for," Wells replied. "There are a number of creeks with soil like this on Long Island."

"We're looking a little closer," Brad said, handing the paper to Beckett.

"Sandy loam?" Beckett asked.

"With some deposits of quartz," Brad said with a nod. "It's not all that typical. So I'm looking closer to home, here in the area, but I also have a plant fragment with that soil, a Balsam fir tree needle."

"Ah, I think I know where you want to go," Wells replied. "And that would be Hamptons Creek chief."

"I had a feeling but I wanted to clear it with an expert before I acted on it," Brad told the woman. "Doctor, I appreciate your help."

"Of course Chief Davis, anything I can do for your case," Wells said.

After saying goodbye to the woman Brad said, "My hobby is studying soil, I don't do it that much but it's fascinated me for a long time."

"Interesting, so we know where to go?" Beckett asked, knowing he'd been able to tell she'd been confused.

"We do, you have your weapon?" Brad asked as he grabbed his coat and they followed. When she nodded he led the way out, calling out a few instructions to some of the officers there before Hutchinson followed as their backup before they stepped out into the lightly falling snow.

* * *

"Sure one of us shouldn't have gone with her?" Castle asked, watching his wife walk down the path away from him and Brad.

"I'm not going that far," Beckett said, turning back. "Dead end, so the map is good."

"Great, so let's get going and please be quiet you two," Brad admonished them. "And Beckett?"

"I'm not leading though," she asked in a low voice.

"Not a chance," Brad replied as he started to walk forward.

"What about a soil sample?" Castle asked.

"I already got it, now quiet," Brad told him sternly.

Walking down the path, Castle ended up having to fend off the branches that were snapping back and striking him when the two ahead passed through them. He grumbled a bit before he said, "Oh, the-"

"Castle," Beckett snapped back without looking at him.

"Sorry," he replied quickly in a whisper. "But these are the fir trees we're looking for, low branches too; they're getting my pants wet. Would probably help if you helped me change." He had been hoping to get a glance or an eye roll from his wife, but when she just shot him a look of what he thought was disgust, he blanched and closed his mouth regretting he'd said that immediately.

"Okay, which way now?" Brad asked, coming to a fork. He had heard what his friend had said but hadn't commented on it since he didn't want the two to start fighting suddenly and alert their suspect to their presence if he was there.

"Mrs. Turner said she saw the guy along the western most path," Beckett said, recalling what their witness; a jogger by the creek; had said to them. "So go ahead to your left."

Castle was tempted to joke and ask if she wasn't sure it was the right path but remembering the look his wife had given him he kept his mouth shut. He then looked back at the other path and thought that he'd seen a flash of color against the bare branches and greens of the trees still containing foliage. But he was distracted when he suddenly ran into his wife's back and hurriedly apologized as he grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"Damn it Castle, what are you doing?" Beckett hissed at him, turning.

"Knock it off you two," Brad said to them angrily. "God, it's like I'm your dad. Which way Beckett?"

"To the right," Beckett replied. "And keep your voice down, we're almost there."

"Yeah, I can hear the creek," Brad replied. "Beckett?"

"I have it," she replied in a low tone, her hand on her weapon.

Leading the way, Brad glanced back at Castle, seeing that he was staying in place; which was what he'd told the man to do while they were driving up to the path down to the creek. He then walked down and saw that there was a tent in the distance, next to the water. He nodded to Beckett who hurriedly went around some trees; Balsam fir he noticed; and he then continued down.

Beckett was the first to get down to the banks of the creek and as she neared the tent, she saw the man from their sketch leaning over and boiling something in a pot. She tried not to make a noise but all of a sudden there was the sound of a branch cracking behind her and she looked back, seeing it was Castle.

"Don't move, Hamptons PD!" Brad yelled as the man suddenly bolted through the foliage, since both paths were blocked with them there.

Going back on the trail, Beckett pushed Castle out of the way before she took off, managing to track the man in the foliage as there wasn't much to cover him and because he was close enough to the path. She completely forgot her husband in her hurry to make sure the man didn't escape. When she reached a clump of fir and still green trees she lost sight of the man and suddenly plunged into the branches, not caring that she didn't have the map with her.

"Kate, don't, you'll…" Castle said as he watched her disappearing. "Get lost," he breathed out when he ran after her and she was gone. "Kate?" he asked, looking around as he had no idea how far he'd run into the trees.

Though she had thought she'd been able to follow the man, Beckett heard something breaking to her right, realizing it was a number of branches. She held her gun down, having to use her left hand to get some tree limbs out of her way but drew it back up when she saw a figure in dark clothing ahead of her. "Stay right there," she yelled.

"Beckett?" Brad replied, coming into her view then with his gun drawn as well. "The hell did he go?"

"He must have doubled back, we thought one another were him," Beckett guessed. "Where the hell did Castle go," she said, looking back in the direction where she'd come from.

"He probably stopped, he knows he'll get lost," Brad told her. "We need to start back and go from there," he said since he looked down and couldn't see their tracks with the snow covering it up.

"What about contacting Hutchinson?" Beckett asked.

"Thanks for reminding me," Brad said, taking his walkie-talkie from his belt.

"I'll go back," Beckett told him. When he nodded to her; talking to his officer; she turned around and started through the snow. She looked around to see if she could spot the suspect but she was nearly to the creek and had no sign of him or her husband. She pushed through the last branches blocking her from the banks of the water and looked around before she heard a sudden splash. She looked over but realized that whatever was making the sound was around the bend. She started to run, making good time since there was nothing to block her way right next to the water.

Castle wasn't sure how he'd managed to return to the creek but when he saw he was back on the shore he went to the tent, starting to reach for the flap. But before he could lift it up he was suddenly knocked to the side, landing with a heavy thud that left him stunned for a second. He would eventually be grateful for that quick recovery time as it allowed him to push himself away and get around the suspect. He started to run but wasn't able to get far before he was being tripped as he fell to his hands and knees and slid through the fresh snow. He turned around and grabbed a stone within reach and slammed it against the side of the man's head. Stumbling up again, he ran around the bend and looked about himself, trying to get his bearings. But he didn't have the chance to try to call for his wife or friend as the suspect appeared in front of him, a rifle aimed right at his chest.

"Hands up and get down on the ground," the man nearly snarled at him.

Castle glanced around for an instant, trying to see a sign of someone; anyone; but as the suspect got closer he knew he had no choice, getting down on his knees. When the man yelled at him to turn around he quickly did so before he felt the muzzle of the gun against his back and he lay down on the snow, ignoring the cold and wet biting him, holding his breath and waiting.

"How the hell did you find me?" the man demanded.

"We just… talked to people," Castle said, not even really thinking about what he was saying as he tried to reach in front of him without the man noticing.

"Who?" the suspect asked. But instead of getting an answer he had to recover when Castle was throwing some dirt and stones at him and then lunged against him. He lost the grip on his rifle and his balance as Castle wasn't stopping until they fell into the water.

Punching the suspect in the face, Castle tried to get away from him but felt a cold, wet hand grabbing onto the lapel of his jacket and he was swinging his hand around to get him off. It didn't work so he had to pull himself out of the grip on him, just managing to stumble back into the water, feeling the shock of the water's temperature. That instance he couldn't recover in time and he was being choked around the neck with a burly arm and he was suddenly plunged under the water.

"Let go of him!" a voice suddenly yelled behind the two. Brad took the chance when the man let go of Castle and shot at the suspect's shoulder, stunned when another bullet hole in his other shoulder bloomed before he fell to the creek. He ran down to his friend who was stumbling up onto the bank, nearly completely soaking wet. "You okay?"

Looking up at his wife who was running up to them Castle; shaking from the cold; nodded and said, "What about him?"

"Dead," Hutchinson said, wading through the water and checking on the suspect whose body was caught against a rock in the current.

"Yeah, you had an angled shot," Brad said grimly. "But it's more his fault."

Nodding at her boss Hutchinson said, "I called 911 but what about him?"

"Beckett…" Brad started to say as she was approaching them but then trailed off when he saw the look on her face, unsure if she was going to start crying or yell at Castle for what had happened. "You've got this Hutchinson." At her nod, he said, "Come on, I'll get you two out of here before it gets any colder; especially for you Rick."

Looking at her husband for a moment, Beckett turned around and walked ahead of the two, reaching the path and lengthening her stride as she tried vainly to get the image of Castle's head held underwater out of her mind with each step in the snow.


	4. So Deep This Feeling I Have For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Never Get Over You by George Harrison, from his album Brainwashed.

Writing the last number of her math homework, Julia sighed deeply as she put the page away in her folder. Since that was the last of her assignments for the day she started to pack her backpack for the next morning. She began to walk to the door when she finished, since she usually left her backpack by the front door as it was easier having it there, but then hesitated. She frowned and set it down again on top of her bed before wrapping her arms around Macca who'd kept her company on top of the mattress.

"I wish I knew what was wrong," she told the dog. "Mommy and Daddy have never been like this before." When all Julia got as a lick to the chin in response to that, she smiled sadly and scratched behind one of his ears. The knock to her door startled her and she called, "You can come in."

"Hey," Beckett said, walking inside with Eliza in her arms. "Are you finished with homework?"

"Yeah, why?" Julia asked dully.

Not surprised at her daughter's tone of voice, Beckett tried to smile and said, "Your sister wants to play with you so I told her we'd check on you."

"I'll play," Julia said, smiling at her little sister and trying to make it genuine.

Leading the way out of her room, Beckett waited for Julia to take her backpack to the foyer. She glanced down the hall into the kitchen where Macca was walking to, seeing that her husband had his back turned to her. She bit her lower lip for a moment, recalling when she and Castle had finally reached home a short time before and how she'd tried to think of a way to speak to him. She wasn't sure if he was angry as he was acting like he was to her, so in her confusion she kept silent, trying to think but unable to since she needed to watch their daughters. "Ready?" she asked, turning and seeing that Julia was walking back to her.

"Yeah, what do you want to play?" the little girl asked Eliza. When the toddler shrugged she frowned for a moment and then said, "Why don't we just do something with art?"

"I have an idea," Beckett said then. When the two girls looked at her she smiled and said, "I had the idea before but this weekend we were enjoying the weather outside so I couldn't tell you." She led them over to the cabinet where they kept their games and a few other items, bringing out some paint and marbles. It took her a little time to get everything ready and then the girls ready as well as she covered their clothes. "Eliza," she said a little sternly to her youngest. "I'm letting you do this but you need to promise not to put the marbles into your mouth, okay?"

"Kay," the toddler replied. "Do we play?"

"Hold on," Beckett said as she was getting paint into some bowls she'd brought over earlier; having had the idea in mind when she realized Castle didn't want her help with dinner. "Now you're going to put the marble into the color you want," and there she put the one she held into some dark green paint and started to roll it around a few times. "And then put it here," she said setting it into the box she'd made with a piece of paper underneath.

"It paints!" Eliza cried, seeing the streaks of green on the paper at the bottom.

"I did that before," Julia said, already taking a blue covered marble and rolling it around. "It's a lot of fun. But don't use too much paint, or else it's gonna look like a mess."

Smiling as Eliza nodded seriously to that; and relieved Julia sounded a little happier; Beckett kissed her youngest's temple and watched the two for a moment. She would have forgotten about her own paper if Julia hadn't spoken suddenly, breaking her from her observation of them.

"Are you going to make a picture too?" the little girl asked.

"Of course," Beckett said quickly. She mimicked her daughters in covering the marbles in paint, rolling them around the paper before they'd finished. "Okay, I'll take off the boxes but can you take Eliza to the bathroom and wash her hands?"

At that same moment Castle quickly left his spot watching the three inside the room. He hadn't really needed to be in the kitchen anymore and after doing something quickly he had gone to the doorway of the family room. He'd wanted to join them but didn't feel like he could; not wanting to ruin the moment Beckett was having with their daughters. He turned then, seeing that Julia was leading Eliza by the hand the other way down the hall. He smiled when he could hear that they were both talking about their paintings they'd made but his wife came out, following them.

Watching her somberly, there was something in Castle that wanted to call out to her, to finally talk. But another part of him didn't think he'd be listened to, so he simply went back to the meal, getting everything ready before Julia was hurrying down the hall to him.

"Are you okay Daddy?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah, how was homework?" Castle asked, setting some plates on the table for her.

"It was okay," Julia replied with a shrug. "It was just homework."

"At least you got it done," Castle said.

"Yeah," Julia replied softly before she started to set the table. She smiled as Eliza came over to her, not wanting her little sister to realize that anything was wrong with their parents. "Are you gonna help me?"

"Yeah," the toddler said eagerly before she took the napkins, letting Julia take them to set them down. She then glanced over at Beckett, who was walking into the kitchen, and studied her and Castle who nearly bumped into each other.

Unable to help the frown on her face as their parents merely murmured an apology, Julia said to her sister, "Let's get our drinks."

"Kay," Eliza said, looking slightly perplexed as she'd never seen their parents like that.

After everyone had a drink and was sitting down at the table, Beckett started the conversation over the turkey slices and mashed sweet potato they were passing around to each other. But it soon faltered and the family ate in silence, though before long Julia was merely picking at her food.

Watching her parents, the little girl wondered when one of them had placed Eliza's high chair between them. The high chair was only moved to be next to Castle or Beckett; they always sat next to each other except during holiday dinners in the living room. She studied them and finally a fire started to build in her chest, along with an indescribable rage that made her think she wasn't going to be able to breathe.

The slam of a fork on a plate made Castle, Beckett and Eliza look at Julia, who jumped up as they stared at her with wide eyes.

"Why don't you just get a divorce, if you can't even stand to say more than a word to each other?" Julia shouted at her parents. When her little sister burst into tears at her tone a sob escaped her own throat and she ran out of the breakfast nook, not caring that she was being called to as she raced upstairs to her room.

"I'll talk to her," Beckett said, not looking at Castle though before she picked up Eliza. She tried to soothe the toddler as she went to the stairs, not surprised when it didn't really seem like it was helping as she headed up.

Looking after her, Castle sighed deeply and poked at the mashed sweet potatoes still on his plate, not quite sure what to do. He knew that neither of the girls had really eaten much but didn't know if they'd want to come down again after that. He stood up; putting everything from the table into the oven before settling down to wash what was in the sink, hoping Beckett would be able to calm down their daughters. But as he was working he wasn't able to shake the guilt still inside him and he attacked the pot that he was scrubbing, surprised he wasn't punching through the metal as he got the sweet potato off of it.

"Julia-" Beckett started to say as she entered the little girl's room.

"Don't say I'm in trouble," Julia blurted out, sitting up on the edge of her bed as her mother came in. "You know I'm right, you're gonna get a divorce and then we have to spend time between you and Daddy. But you can't Mommy; you're going to always be sad if you do that."

"We're not getting a divorce," Beckett said firmly as she sat next to her. She was relieved when at that point Eliza stopped crying and she kissed the top of the toddler's head before saying, "We had a small argument-"

"That's not a small fight," Julia said, almost scathingly. "Not if you don't even talk to Daddy. Why can't you say you're sorry; or Daddy; and then make up?"

"It's a little more complicated than that," Beckett said softly.

"What did you say and what did Daddy say to you?" Julia asked.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett replied, shaking her head. "What matters is that you two stop crying okay?"

"I already did," Julia said, gritting her teeth together. "Now I'm angry."

"Sweetie," Beckett said with a sigh.

"Don't tell me I shouldn't be," Julia said defiantly.

"No, but I don't want you to worry," Beckett replied. She hesitated slightly for a moment, not sure of where Castle was at that point as she couldn't hear him downstairs. But finally she said, "I still love your daddy okay? And I do not want to get a divorce."

Sighing as she knew her mother was serious with her tone of voice, Julia said, "Then just talk to Daddy."

"I will, don't worry," Beckett replied. "But we need a little time okay?"

Studying her, Julia finally nodded and said, "Okay, but what if you don't tonight and you're still like this. Then you'll be lying to me Mommy."

"I won't," Beckett replied, though she had no idea if that was going to be the case. She wrapped her arm around Julia when the little girl looked relieved and she leaned over, kissing the top of her head as Eliza snuggled close to her. "So, you two didn't eat too much at dinner," she finally said when she was sure they were much calmer. "Are you still hungry?"

"I am Mommy," Eliza said in a tiny voice.

"Julia?" Beckett asked her. At the little girl's nod she said, "Then let's go back down and eat okay, finish dinner before we have something special for dessert."

Hearing footsteps, Castle went to the bottom of the stairs, watching as Julia came down first ahead of her mother. "Hey, are we still eating?" he asked, wondering what his wife had said and if the girls were mad at him.

"Yeah, we're still hungry," Julia said simply. She walked with him to the kitchen and watched as he grabbed their plates from the oven. When they were sitting down again she ate but kept looking at her parents, seeing that they were glancing to one another but not at the same time. "Eliza," she then said, trying to remember her mother's reassurances. "Want to tell them about what happened at recess?"

"Yeah," the toddler said, nodding her head before she picked up some sweet potatoes with her fork and tried to touch it.

"Don't-" Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly, nodding to let her continue.

"Don't touch your food sweetie," Beckett told Eliza, smoothing her hand over her hair.

"So what happened at recess?" Castle asked as the toddler ate the potatoes, smiling at her fork after. He then wondered if he could ask Julia what Beckett had told them but guessed that what it was had reassured them enough to act normally as the little girl began to speak.

"We were in the cafeteria 'cause there was sleet," Julia began. "And we could only play races."

"Everyone or just the older grades?" Castle asked, looking out of the corner of his eye at his wife as she was wiping off Eliza's mouth.

"Everyone," Julia replied. "But the races for the young grades were just skipping or walking, those were funny."

"And did you race too?" Beckett asked Eliza.

"She skipped and she won," Julia said as her sister nodded. "I ran, but didn't win, but that's okay, I was close to third."

"Not bad," Castle said. He then urged Julia to tell them about her day; since they hadn't heard; though the little girl had her sister talk about her day first.

"So it sounds like you had a good time at dance class," Beckett commented when Julia had finished and they were nearly done eating.

"I did, it was fun getting to dance the Flamenco," Julia replied, calming down then from her exuberance talking about it. She looked at Castle and Beckett and smiled a little at them saying, "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, it's understandable," Castle replied.

"He's right, but remember what I told you," Beckett said, though she had to wonder if she was talking more to Julia or Castle.

Glancing at her then, Castle was about to speak before he heard his phone ringing, nearly making him groan in frustration. He quickly got up and went over to where it was on the island. "It's David," he said, frowning slightly.  
"Is something wrong with Mari?" Julia asked worriedly.

"Hold on," Castle said before he answered. "David?"

"Yeah, sorry Rick, just wondering if you want to go with me to The Shale and have a beer," the man said on the other end.

"Oh, go out for a beer…" Castle started to say, looking over at his wife.

"It's fine," Beckett replied with a nod as she was taking Eliza out of the high chair. "You haven't had a night like that in a while."

"I… don't really think I should go," Castle said slowly.

"Maybe you should," Julia said suddenly before Beckett could reply to that. When her parents looked at her in surprise, she shrugged and told them, "You always kiss after you come back." When they looked away from each other, she suddenly felt as if she'd been plunged in cold water, realizing that her mother was likely wrong and their argument wasn't going to be resolved. She was about to take back what she said when her father began to speak on the phone again.

"Yeah, I think I'll go out with you but only for one beer okay? I don't really want to stay away for that long," Castle said, looking at Beckett as he spoke.

"Thank you," she said simply to him as she turned her gaze to him.

When David on the other end groaned suddenly, Castle was startled and wondered if the man had been hoping he'd say no. But after agreeing to text each other when they'd be able to leave their families he helped Beckett clear the table as the girls went to the family room together. "Is it too soon still," he asked her in a low voice though Julia and Eliza wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Yeah… just… I can't," Beckett replied, looking at him.

"Look, I don't need to go-" Castle started to say.

"No, you should, it would probably be better if we had some time apart," Beckett said. When she looked at him she said, "Some time," as he seemed to be startled at that.

"You're right," Castle said in a matter of fact tone, though he was trying to figure out if he should be hurt at her desire for space or take it as a positive that they were speaking. "David's doing his dishes," he then told her as there'd been a pause between them. "So I can take care of this."

"You cooked though," Beckett said.

"I've got this," Castle said, smiling briefly at her. When she touched his arm he nearly jumped but let his smile stay in place a little longer before she went over to the fridge.

"I told them we'd have a special dessert," Beckett told him, looking through what was inside.

"Do we have anything?" Castle asked, watching her as he was rolling up his sleeves.

"We do, the petite fours," Beckett replied. "That's enough for tonight. Do you want one?" she asked him.

Though she was looking at him again, Castle shook his head and told her, "I'm good, but thanks for offering?"

With a slight nod, which her husband didn't see as he was turned to the sink, Beckett left, trying not to walk too quickly away from the awkwardness between them though it had eased when they were talking about their daughters. When she reached the family room she saw that the two were looking at their hobby horses, petting them gently on the noses. "Sorry I took so long," she said when they rushed to her once they saw her. She held them close to her as they hugged her tightly around the waist and said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Julia said, resisting the urge to say that she had been talking to Castle as she and her sister had been able to hear them. She wanted to ask if they'd made up before that but looking up into her mother's eyes she was able to tell that they hadn't as there was something there that made her realize she was a little sad. She hugged her again and then said, "What do we do tonight?" in an effort to hopefully distract her for a little.

"That depends on you two," Beckett said with a smile before she took their hands and led them over to the couch where she sat. "Did you think about what you want to do yet?"

"I think we should play some games," Julia said firmly.

"Then go ahead and pick them out," Beckett said. She watched her oldest start to turn but was surprised when Eliza stayed in place. "What's wrong?"

"Sweets?" the toddler asked hopefully.

Laughing softly, Beckett shook her head and said, "Not yet, after we play the first game okay?"

"How many games can we play?" Julia asked.

Beckett paused then, realizing she wanted Castle to be there to say goodnight to the girls, when she heard him entering the room. "Are you-" she started to say.

"I'll be back in time," he replied quickly before she could finish. "And I'm going to head out now so I will be. So want to tell me goodbye?" When the girls hurried to him he hugged them tightly and said, "Make sure you two listen to your mom, don't make too much trouble for her okay?"

"We won't," Julia said quickly. "But you'll come back here right?"

"Yeah, you're here," Castle said before sharing a kiss with her. He did the same with Eliza and ruffled her hair saying, "Tomorrow at breakfast you have to tell me all about what you do with your mom."

"I will," the toddler promised. She hugged him one last time before her sister took her hand and they turned to the games.

"I'll be back," Castle said to his wife, feeling a little stupid for saying that.

"We'll wait for you," Beckett said softly, smiling for a moment. She watched him go and she sighed under her breath when she heard the front door open and shut. "Okay, what do you have?" she asked as she quickly turned her attention to Julia and Eliza who were coming over to her with two games, each holding one.

"She wants to be the green piece," Julia said as her sister set down Candyland.

"Julia," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at that. "You mean Greenpeace don't you?"

"I like the name," the little girl said, giggling. She watched her sister hug their mother around the neck and kiss her cheek and said, "I think she's hoping you let her still be green."

"I will," Beckett replied after sharing a kiss with Eliza. "You'll be blue I'm sure."

"Of course," Julia said as she sat on her knees and watched her mother set up the board before they started to play. She smiled when Eliza cheered each time she moved her piece ahead until she ended up winning.

"Can I tell Daddy I win?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"You can but you need to say you won," Julia replied, watching their mother as she was putting away the board. "That's the right way."

"I won," Eliza said simply. "Now sweets?"

"You have too good of a memory," Beckett replied.

"I can get the Clue game for you," Julia said. "Or… get it ready I mean," she said with a smile.

"I can take a hint," Beckett said. "But make sure she stays unless she comes… with me," she trailed off when the toddler rushed around the table to her. She picked Eliza up and carried her to the kitchen, kissing her cheek as they went while listening to her chattering eagerly about the game though she'd just been playing with her.

While her mother was grabbing a plate, Eliza tangled her fingers through her hair slightly saying, "Happy?"

Looking at her before she started to walk back, Beckett smiled at her and then gave her a kiss on the cheek as her response before she shut the fridge door with her hip. "So you get one each," she said when she'd entered the family room to see that the board game had in fact been set up. "But eat slowly please."

"I remember getting these," Julia said with a smile. "But I wish we had cupcakes."

"You got those last week for your birthday," Beckett reminded her as she and Castle had ordered some custom cupcakes for their daughter with fondant horses and dance shoes on them, as well as a few St. Patrick's Day decorated ones since Julia had asked for that.

"Still," the little girl said simply. She then started to say something but hesitated before finally saying, "What about one for Daddy?"

"He ate it already," Beckett said, since the fourth one was gone. "Should we roll first to see who's going to go?"

"Don't you need three people?" Julia asked as she picked up the dice.

"You do, but remember we divided all the cards between us," Beckett replied.

Nodding, Julia shook the dice in her hands and then let them go, smiling as they rolled out and gave her a nine. When her mother rolled a ten she said, "You just got it."

"I did," Beckett replied before she started to move. She and Julia played, but they ended up finishing quicker than if there had been more players. "I think we should wait to play that one again," she told her daughter.

"Yeah, well… now what?" Julia asked.

"I can read to you two after I give you your bath," Beckett said, smiling at them. She couldn't help laugh softly as Eliza scrunched up her nose and told her, "I'm sorry sweetie, but I need to."

"Kay," the toddler sighed.

"And you know, since we're a little early, I can let you play together a tiny, little bit longer," Beckett said as she and Julia got the game put away. She picked up Eliza as the toddler clapped her hands together at that and she kissed her cheek before she held her hand out to Julia.

Squeezing it, the little girl said, "I forgot to ask Mommy, are you gonna have to work tomorrow?"

"We are," Beckett replied. "But we will take you to school; together," she added as she knew her daughter was going to ask that. "This time we'll definitely try and get to your dance class; we had to stay longer today since we had a few things to look at." She took the girls into Eliza's bathroom and quickly grabbed Julia's pajamas before getting the tub filled with water as the little girl helped her sister get undressed and then did so herself. "Alright, into the water before you two freeze," she said, tickling Eliza to her shriek of laughter before she put her in and helped Julia step after her little sister.

Trying to get out of her sister's way as the toddler immediately started to slap her hands on the water's surface; splashing herself and her mother, Julia said, "Don't you want to play?" her tone of voice slightly protesting.

"She's right," Beckett said, quickly taking the chance Eliza gave her when she stopped to start rinsing her hair. "The quicker I finish with you two the sooner you can play."

"Play right now?" Eliza said in a slightly suggesting manner.

Sighing, Beckett began to rub the toddler's shampoo into her hair, refraining from telling her how much she sounded like her father speaking that way. She looked at Julia then, seeing the little girl was straightening Julia's toys on the other edge of the tub. "I thought you would have wanted to play with your bath crayons," she said, seizing on the opportunity for a change in subject.

"We could," Julia said hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked.

"Could we play hangman maybe?" Julia asked.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said thoughtfully. "You'd have to make some words easy, for your sister."

"That's okay," Julia said quickly. "And it would help her learn her letters better."

"Then yes, we'll play, but after," Beckett said. She paused in rinsing off the conditioner she'd put into Eliza's hair and said, "You might want to ask her though if she's okay with playing that."

"Play what?" the toddler asked, having been listening to them.

"With letters, you guess a word and if you get it wrong we start to draw a horse," Julia explained quickly. "It's fun."

Looking up at her mother as Beckett carefully wiped the water away from her face; Eliza smiled and said, "Kay."

"See, I knew she would," Julia said, beaming at her mother who had begun to wash Eliza off. "I can do that for myself Mommy," she then said.

"I know and I hope you will," Beckett replied. "For now, tilt your head back please." It took a little more time to wash Julia's hair since it was longer but once she'd finished and the little girl had washed her body herself she let her oldest start marking on the wall. "Who's going first?" she asked, watching.

"You," Julia said quickly.

"Hmm," Beckett said once the little girl was finished and there were three spaces first, followed by five. "Do I get a hint what this is? No? Okay, then is there an s?"

Eliza watched as her sister wrote the letter and she said, "S for sun!"

"That's right," Beckett said, smiling at that and leaning over to kiss her temple.

"See? I told you she'd learn her letters with this," Julia replied.

"You were right," Beckett said in amusement. "Now, what about a t?" She was surprised when her daughter drew the first leg of the horse, and she studied the spaces again before asking, "An e?"

Julia wrote down one in the second group of letters and said to Eliza, "What's that?"

"E for eggs," the toddler said, trying to put her fingers in her mouth before her mother stopped her.

"An a?" Beckett then asked. When her daughter had written one down in the first group she asked, "San Diego?"

"Yeah," Julia giggled. "I just thought of it. I was almost gonna put San Francisco, but that would be too easy."

"Just a little," Beckett replied. "Mind letting your sister going now?"

"No, I know what to put," Julia said quickly before marking three letters.

"My turn?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"It is," Beckett replied. "You know the letters already but it's better you try to guess s or t first since those get used the most. Which do you want to try first?"

"S," Eliza said proudly.

"It's okay," Julia said quickly as she drew half of the first leg and her sister looked disappointed. "It happens, even to Mommy it did."

"T?" Eliza said. When her big sister wrote that at the end of the word she clapped her hands saying, "T for toy!"

"Good guess, now you should try and see if there's a vowel, which are the letters a, e, i, o and u, since this word needs one of those," Beckett said, kissing her cheek.

Appearing to think very hard, Eliza then said, "A for apple, put a Jules!"

"You're pretty close," Beckett said. "And I don't know if I could help you now since there are so many letters left."

"It's an animal Lizzy," Julia said then suddenly.

Pursing her lips, Eliza gigged and said, "Not a puppy, a kitty?"

"That's not the right word," Julia said, smiling at her.

"What's a grown up kitty?" Beckett whispered to her youngest.

"Cat! C for cat," Eliza cried, nearly crowing in her realization. When her sister wrote that down she said, "Now you Jules, you play."

"Put down eight spaces," Beckett instructed Julia once she had finished cleaning the previous game off.

"S?" Julia asked, starting off as soon as the last space was marked. She frowned when her mother shook her head and then guessed the letter t, but that wasn't there either. "E?" she asked hopefully.

"The fifth letter," Beckett replied. She couldn't help reaching over and running her hand over the back of Julia's head when the little girl studied her word so seriously and she was pleased when her daughters both turned to her to hug her tightly.

"Okay, um… m?" Julia then asked.

"The fourth one," Beckett said with a nod.

"Flamenco!" Julia instantly said. She laughed when her mother looked slightly startled and said, "I know that one by heart."

"I was hoping it'd be harder to guess," Beckett replied. "Okay you both need to come out now and get dressed."

"Can we still read?" Julia asked, standing up with her sister before she stepped out, being immediately wrapped up in a towel by her mother.

"We can, I don't know how long we have but we'll read a little," Beckett said, drying her off as quickly as she could. "Okay, can you get dressed?"

"You know I know how now Mommy," Julia said, smiling as her mother asked her that once in a while to tease her. She then watched Beckett as she got Eliza out of the tub and sighed a little under her breath as the night wasn't exactly normal, though she knew her mother was trying to make it feel that way.

"Alright, you have your teeth brushed and you're warm now," Beckett said once she'd helped Eliza brush her teeth; Julia doing it as soon as she was in her pajamas. "So go ahead and pick a book for me to read and I'll be right out."

Taking her sister's hand, Eliza looked back as Julia led her out into her room and whispered, "Daddy?"

"Shh, he'll be here to say goodnight," the little girl replied, hoping their mother hadn't heard that. "Let's get your book." She led Eliza to her desk and they looked through the pile of books there; though she was mostly thinking about their father. She hoped that would keep his word at least about coming home before they went to sleep, wondering what he was doing, hoping he was thinking about Beckett and fixing their argument before her sister got her attention and she had to look at her choice.

* * *

Taking a drink from his bottle, Castle made a slight face and said, "This beer is absolute shit."

Looking over at him at that, David swallowed his mouthful and said, "I think it's your day that's been shit Rick that is your favorite beer." He wasn't surprised when his friend groaned and put his forehead on the palm of his hand. "Have you thought about just talking to her?"

Laughing mirthlessly, Castle replied, "I've tried, all through today but she won't let me. Said everything's been said that needs to be. And I'm afraid to, she has to hate me now."

"I doubt it. Why don't you try to talk to her when Eliza and Julia go to bed?" David asked him.

"I might, but… we'll see how that goes," Castle replied, taking another sip. He sighed and said, "Yeah, not the beer."

Nodding to that David said, "At least she was talking to you though, you said she did before you left."

"Mostly in the context of the girls though," Castle corrected him. "Did you ever have a fight like this with Rebecca?"

"Once and that was because of our job," David said. "I'm not kidding."

"So you did make up," Castle said, sounding slightly hopeful.

"Yeah, Dani wouldn't be here if we hadn't," David replied. "But we made up because I apologized for being a douche."

Wincing at that, Castle asked, "What exactly did you fight about?"

"One of our cases, it was a high profile one, a lot of money on the line," David replied. "This was just after we were married, remember she and I started working together right before our engagement." At his friend's nod he continued saying, "There was evidence that would have lost us the case, turns out I had misplaced a number for a witness, and I was so panicked…"

Surprised at his friend's grimace, Castle was able to quickly guess saying, "You blamed her?"

"Yeah, which didn't help when the number was in the papers on another witness, which I had been in charge of compiling, so… I think she was as close to thinking of a divorce as she'd ever been," David said. "So after our argument and my sleeping on the tiny couch in the living room of the house we had then I apologized but because I was wrong of course."

"How did she forgive you?" Castle inquired.

"I told her that since I'd nearly compromised the case she needed to take over and she did and in fact she won it," David said. "Now don't think that's going to work for you and Kate but you might want to tell her that you're incredibly sorry for what you said."

"Yeah, I don't think she'd want to write the book on her own," Castle said honestly. He then looked thoughtful before saying, "I'll try but I need to be ready for it; especially after she's been rebuffing me all day." He became thoughtful and then said, "Maybe she's afraid I might do that to her…"

"Well, I hope you can talk, I need you two to not have to worry about everything in your personal lives if you're staying with the case," David said.

"Don't worry, we'll investigate just fine," Castle said, drinking again from his bottle. "Is this why you asked me to meet you here?"

"Yeah," David replied. "And Rebecca said I should."

"You're completely whipped you know that right?" Castle joked.

"And you're not?" David shot back quickly. He was surprised when his friend merely looked at the label on the bottle he held before saying, "Sorry?"

"No, I'm just thinking," Castle hurriedly told him to reassure him. "You know she and I are even. With our writing anyways."

Since he hadn't talked about that with his friend yet, David replied, "You're sure?" a little hesitantly.

"I know what I said but I told you it wasn't serious, I just…" Castle replied.

"Whatever you've got going on in your head Rick you have got to get that worked out," David said. "And tell your wife why you were a douche."

Looking at him, Castle saw that he was being completely serious and he sighed before taking another drink. "She's been pretty amazing," he muttered.

"I'm well aware, I have read your books," David replied, having still heard him. "You both write pretty evenly with each other, I have no clue who's written what." He then shook his head and said, "But what the hell possessed you to go back and change what she'd contributed?"

Castle shook his own head in response to that before he said, "Complicated," taking another swig of beer.

"Yeah, so you want to talk about that to her obviously," David said, watching him and shaking his head. "Again, when your girls are in bed, take her to your room and tell her what that complicated reason is. Now are you finished?"

Moving his bottle, Castle saw that he was so he nodded before he and David left the bar. Outside in the snow he looked up at the sky before his friend clapped his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're going to get drunk off that one bottle," David said, leading him to his car. When Castle just looked at him he said, "Then come on, let's get back to our wives and daughters; been away from them long enough."

Unable to help smile at that; since they'd only been away for an hour at the most; Castle got into the passenger seat and looked out the window while David drove them back.

"Alright, we really should do this when neither of us has had a fight with our spouse," David said as he stopped where Castle told him to; at the end of his driveway.

"Yeah, sorry I wasn't that great company," he said. "But thanks for the beer," Castle told him, shaking his hand.

"Not a problem, get inside man," David told him. "And talk to her."

"I will, night," Castle replied before he got out. He watched David go in reverse until he could drive next door and he finally started to walk up to the house. He huddled in his coat, looking up at the house and the lights on. He hurried his stride, wanting to make it in time to help Beckett put the girls to bed before they finally talked; finding that his mind was suddenly set on that.

"You're falling asleep already Eliza," Beckett was saying as she closed the book to her daughter's protest. "And you need to go to bed."

"But-" the toddler started to say.

"Hey, did I make it in time?" Castle asked. He smiled slightly at his wife before he looked at their girls, seeing they were both smiling back at him.

"You did, Eliza needs to go to bed," Beckett said simply.

"Night Lizzy," Julia said as she knew their mother wasn't kidding about her needing to go to bed. She hugged her sister tightly before she kissed her cheek to return the one that Eliza planted on hers. She then slid off the bed and watched as Beckett followed her to allow Castle to sit on the edge.

"Goodnight sweetheart, I love you," he was saying to the toddler before sharing a kiss with her.

"Love you Daddy," Eliza replied, smiling at him. She let her mother lay her back before she shared a kiss with her and said happily, "Night Mommy, love you too."

"I love you sweetie," Beckett said, tucking her in. "Warm?" When the toddler nodded, she leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before leaving with Castle and Julia.

"Could I go to bed?" Julia asked after they were walking down the hall and were in front of the doorway to her room.

"You still have a half hour to go," Beckett replied, surprised at that.

"I know, but I'm kinda tired," Julia replied.

"You're sure?" Castle asked. When the little girl nodded he looked at his wife who shrugged at him and then followed their oldest into her room.

"Want me to read to you at least?" Beckett asked as Julia got onto her bed, scratching behind Macca's ear as he jumped onto it with the little girl.

"Okay," Julia said softly.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Castle asked while Beckett was going over to the desk to get the book they were currently reading.

"Yeah I'm just a little tired, like I said," Julia replied with a small smile. She looked over and said, "We're still on that book?"

"We are, and we're close to finishing… about ten pages," Beckett said, looking at where the ribbon bookmark was.

"So we can finish it right?" Julia asked eagerly.

Relieved to see some emotion from her since Castle had gotten home, Beckett nodded and sat down with Julia, leaning against the headboard. She watched her husband sit down across from them on the edge and then turned her attention to the book. "Okay, want to read at all or just me?" she asked as she opened the tome to the page where the ribbon was.

"You can read," Julia said, glancing at her father briefly.

Looking on while Beckett began with the date of the entry on the page, Castle wondered if it was better if he left the two to themselves. But remembering his determination he stayed where he was until the book was finished.

"That was a good story," Julia said, touching the cover of the _Dear America_ book.

"It was, I'll put it on the desk-" Beckett started to say as she slid off the bed. Before she could go to it Castle was taking the book from her and she said, "Thanks."

"Mommy?" Julia asked, sounding a little hinting in her tone.

Walking over to the bed as she'd been talking, Castle hugged her, sharing a kiss with the little girl before he murmured in her ear, "I love you sweetheart."

"Love you Daddy, please… talk to Mommy," Julia replied, trying not to burst into tears.

Slightly startled at that, Castle pressed a kiss to her forehead before he stepped back to let Beckett say goodnight to her. He was tempted to touch the small of her back but hesitated and finally put his hand down, just watching them.

"Sweet dreams Julia," Beckett said once Julia had lain back on the bed. She shared a kiss with her and then said, "Get some sleep okay? I love you."

"Love you too Mommy," the little girl said softly, studying her mom. "Will you…" she started to say before trailing off.

"Don't worry," Beckett whispered to her as she tucked the little girl in. "Goodnight."

Going to the door when his wife had stood up, Castle looked over at their daughter as she stared at them and reached for the lights before stepping out of Beckett's way.

Closing the door slightly behind her, Beckett looked up at Castle, unsure of herself before she stepped around him before walking down the hall to their room. She didn't look back and once she got inside she closed the door behind her, leaning against it and closing her eyes as she covered her face with her hands, berating herself and trying to convince herself to go back.

Opening his mouth as she left him, Castle wanted to stop her but as she was walking resolutely he closed it again. The sound of their bedroom door closing made him wince and the last bit of his resolution inside him died away, making him head down the stairs and to the family room. Looking at the couch once he was there he sighed and muttered, "At least it's not tiny," before sitting down.

Tiptoeing out of her room once she heard the sound of a door opening Julia looked down the hall, wondering if she should check on her parents. She went to the doorway to their room that was open and peered around the side, her mouth dropping open when she saw that her mother was there; but there was no sign of her father at all. And when she saw that Beckett was at the windows, her arms crossed over her chest, she bit her lower lip; her chin wobbling as she knew they hadn't made up. She turned and rushed back to her room, trying to be as quiet as possible until she was inside.

"Eliza!" Julia gasped as she saw her little sister leaning against her bed. The shock of that made her tears instantly stop and she ran the last few steps to her, hugging her as she could see the tears on the toddler's cheeks. "What's wrong, did you have a nightmare again?"

"No," Eliza sobbed softly. "Mommy and Daddy?"

Tears welling up again in her own eyes, Julia tried to fight them before she said, "It's okay, they'll talk and we'll see them in the morning. Want to sleepover with me tonight?"

"Please?" Eliza whispered.

Taking her sister over to the bed, Julia helped her up and then climbed in after her. She could tell the toddler was still crying so she wrapped her arms around her before they were suddenly squealing as Macca had walked up to them and started to lick at their damp cheeks. "Macca no, lay down," she finally said, taking a while to say that since her sister was giggling and she didn't want to stop that yet. When the dog had gone back to the other end she hugged Eliza again and said, "Let's think of what to have for breakfast tomorrow okay?"

Sighing, the toddler said, "Cakes?"

"Pancakes? Maybe, I hope we wake up tomorrow on time," Julia replied. "And…" she started to say before she stopped abruptly, not sure that their dad would be making any coffee for their mom the next day. "But we'll see," she said quickly before Eliza could try to ask what was going on. "We should go to sleep."

Nodding, Eliza yawned and kissed her sister's cheek before she pulled the covers around them. Once Julia was lying down next to her again she whispered, "Night Jules."

"Night Lizzy," Julia replied softly, wondering how the night was going to pass for their mom and dad as she closed her eyes and attempted to sleep.

Standing at the windows when her oldest had looked in, Beckett was remembering the moment when she had thought Castle had been killed when they'd been in Canada. She had regressed to that because she'd managed to see her husband being shoved under the water by their suspect. Shivering she turned around, leaning back against the window while she looked down at the floor, her arms crossed over her chest as she recalled the way he'd looked at her when their eyes had met in Julia's room. Closing her eyes tightly for a moment she pushed herself off the glass and took one more look out to the water that was black with night.

Sitting on the edge of the couch as he was nowhere near feeling tired yet, Castle rubbed his face with his hands up before he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up, wondering why Julia had gotten out of bed and he stood up to take her back when his wife appeared in the doorway. "Love," he said, jumping up instantly and hurrying over to her.

"I'm sorry," the two said at the same time when they'd gotten close to each other. They looked at one another in slight surprise, before they started to say, "You-" before cutting themselves off, also at the same time.

"You don't need to apologize Kate," Castle said quickly. "I should, because I was a complete ass earlier, I… I shouldn't have said what I did. There is a reason why I took my anger at myself out on you with what I told you."

"Why are you angry at yourself?" Beckett asked, surprised to hear that.

"I… come here," Castle said, reaching out with her hand. He was ready to withdraw it if she didn't move to take it but when she did he took her to their office. When he had the document with their book up he had her read the last paragraph.

"You changed it back," Beckett said. "But why do you have that first sentence in red?"

"That's the one I had at the start of mine, I'm… kind of proud of that one, so I'd like to keep it," Castle told her seriously. "But it's your paragraph so if you don't want it we can easily erase it." He couldn't help the sudden intake of breath he had then as she was leaning over and he watched her reach for the mouse before she highlighted the sentence.

"You were right, I didn't have enough of a sense of place there," Beckett told him as she changed the text to black. "And it's a good opening for a paragraph; a great one." She saved the program and said, "I'll accept your apology if you tell me what caused that, why you were changing my writing."

"I'm really sorry I did, I would go back and change back to what you had put it if I could… maybe I could-" Castle started to say in a rush.

"Rick," Beckett said, cutting him off. "Why?"

"Right," Castle said, slowing down then. He breathed out and then sat down on his chair before carefully drawing her to him. He felt a rush of relief when she sat down on his lap at his direction, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I haven't been feeling that… great writing lately. I'm a little worried about the quality of it and I've been getting angrier with myself as that keeps happening."

Studying him, Beckett could see that he was serious and concerned at the same time. She ran her hand over the back of his head, smiling slightly when he looked startled at that and then she made her decision. "I accept your apology, because I know how much that worries you. And I think I know why you've been thinking that lately; we've been working too hard haven't we?"

"I don't know," Castle said. "I don't think so; we have had some cases to break that up."

"True," Beckett said. "I'm thinking now that maybe we should take a break from it."

"A break?" Castle asked, startled since she never suggested that.

Smiling as she knew what he was thinking, Beckett nodded her head and told him, "Just until maybe the middle of next month okay? I wonder, would you like to perhaps start Julia's book during that time? We don't need to write it that quickly but it would be fun."

"Yeah, you know I'd like to do that a lot," Castle said, nodding his head. "But are we going to be able to with Julia still in school?"

"The weekends?" Beckett asked. "When she finishes her homework?"

Nodding, Castle looked at his wife before they both lost the slight smiles on their faces. "God, what did we do to them love?" he groaned, leaning against her. He looked up at her when she placed her hands on his cheeks and he pulled her closer as she leaned down. Their kiss was a little hesitant at first before they both deepened it at the same time and were clinging to one another tightly before their need to breathe made them part. " _I love you_ Kate. _I'm so sorry_ ," he whispered to her.

" _Love you too_ Rick, _so much. And I'm sorry too_ ," Beckett murmured. "The girls will see we're okay tomorrow but… we can't do this again. It was… hell today."

"Yeah, I'll agree with that completely," Castle told her with a nod. He then sighed and said, "I really wish we could wake them to tell them we worked everything out."

"We can't," Beckett told him with a slight smile as she could understand his sentiment in saying that. "They need their sleep… I just hope they are right now."

"You want to check on them?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he stood up after she'd gotten off him but before they could leave he said, "Are we okay?"

Studying him for a moment, Beckett looked a little serious before she told him, "Do you-"

"I think you're a great writer love and I do not want to stop, at all," Castle told her swiftly, interrupting her. "Um, writing with you."

Smiling a little at his slip up, Beckett said, "You're sure?"

"Are you sure we should take that break? It sounds like I need to prove you're more than welcome to write with me, I want it," Castle said.

Cupping his face in her hands, Beckett brushed her lips against his and murmured, "You already did, just don't forget this is what I want too."

"Yeah, I won't," Castle said, nodding his head with his eyes wide.

Laughing softly, Beckett shared a kiss with him before taking his hand and walking out of their office. As they went up the stairs she leaned against him and smiled when he wrapped his arm around her. They went over to Eliza's doorway, freezing when they saw the bed was empty. "Oh no," she said, turning and leading the way to Julia's room. She nearly skidded to a stop when she saw that the two were inside on the bed and she breathed out, looking at her husband as she saw that he could see their daughters there.

Following Beckett inside, Castle smiled slightly as he saw the two were fast asleep and pressed close together for warmth as the sheets were starting to go over the edge of the bed. He helped her get them straightened out, being very careful not to wake either of them up before they left the room as quietly as possible. "So… even Eliza knew," he commented as they walked past the stairs; feeling it was safer to talk there.

"You know she would," Beckett pointed out to him. "She pays pretty close attention to her sister." They had reached their bedroom and she turned to him after he'd closed and locked the door and said, "I can't believe ourselves… I can't believe me, why didn't I just talk to you and…" trailing off when Castle walked up to her and held her to him, pressing his lips to her forehead. She sighed then and said, "I was afraid of what you'd say; you didn't want me writing with you."

"Don't get mad at me, I heard you telling Brad you were afraid of saying something to me you couldn't take back," Castle admitted.

"That too," Beckett admitted, leaning against him. "I feel like we should do something for Brad."

"For trying to help us?" Castle asked.

"And playing marriage counselor," Beckett said.

"David did too a little, when we were at the bar," Castle said. He then looked at her seriously and asked, "You don't mind I did that do you?"

"No, probably better that you went, gave us some time to think," Beckett replied. She then said, "Are you tired?"

"No, you?" Castle asked. When she shook her head he asked, "Want me to get some wine?" He smiled when she just looked at him and he leaned over, kissing her gently on the lips before he left her. As he neared the door, he heard her say, "Hurry," and that seemed to propel him even quicker through it and down to the kitchen.

When he went back to her, Beckett was standing in front of the fireplace which she'd turned on, watching the flames before she felt her husband next to her. Taking the glass of wine from him she murmured a thank you before taking a sip. Since she was looking back at the fire she saw that he was watching her out of the corner of her eye. "What?" she asked, turning to face him.

"No, I'm just wondering, you forgave me that easily?" Castle asked.

Studying the expression on his face, Beckett could see that he was serious and she smiled slightly before saying, "Would you rather I be mad at you again?"

"No, not at all," Castle said. "I'm just wondering if I shouldn't… do something to make up for what I said."

"I think we're even Rick," Beckett replied simply. "I pretty much pushed you away. So we're fine now. Do you want to go to sleep?" she asked, though she'd heard him locking the door when he'd come back inside.

"Not really," Castle said. "You?" When she shook her head he said, "I… locked the door."

Unable to help smile wider that time at his hesitant tone, Beckett said, "I heard, both times you came in here. So you want to go to bed."

"Not necessarily right now," Castle replied. He was surprised when his wife nodded and said, "You feel the same."

"I do and I hate it," Beckett replied with a slight incline of her head as she knew he meant the fact that they were still a little awkward with one another. "Why don't we…" she started to say, looking around the room before her gaze settled on the coffee table where their chessboard was. "Play a game?"

"Yeah, that would be great," Castle said, following her to the armchairs.

As they sat, Beckett wanted to suggest something but held back as she decided to wait to see if she could talk about it later. She made the first move and was soon able to take one of his pawns. "Great," she said before her husband could make his next move.

"Why great?" Castle asked, glancing over at her. His eyes widened as she stood up and walked around the table to him before sitting on his lap. Instinct made him wrap his arms around her and he was just able to respond to her when her lips pressed against his. "So," he said when she pulled away and tried to stand up before he stopped her. "We're doing that again?"

"We rarely play without doing that," Beckett pointed out, a smirk on her face at his retention of his grip on her. "But unless you don't want to…"

"Oh I do, just making sure this is what you want," Castle said. He was a little startled when she suddenly kissed him, and hard, making him scramble a little before he responded. He knew that kiss had nothing to do with the game, so he quickly slipped his tongue into her mouth, groaning as she was there to start rolling her own around his. Their hands gripping tightly to each other they were soon parting; more out of a need to breathe than because they wanted to stop. He held her to him tightly as he whispered an apology for that morning again and was a little surprised when she pulled away.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," Beckett told him simply, a smile on her face as she sat across from him again.

"You're sure? Because I was-" Castle started to say.

Her smile growing wider, Beckett said, "I'm very sure. And because I accepted your apology and we talked it out-"

"Not really," Castle said.

"What's there left to say?" Beckett asked, not really feeling annoyed as she knew he was saying it to make sure.

"I just…" Castle said. "Okay, you have a point but there's one thing."

"You just said I have a point," Beckett said with a slight laugh.

"Are you okay?" Castle asked her. "With writing, because I know you're still feeling unsure of yourself with that. But you shouldn't Kate you're a great writer, you've heard all the compliments people give you, just you."

Touching her aquamarine pendant, Beckett said with a smile, "You're sure you didn't pay them to do that?"

"No," Castle said as forcefully as he could. "I would never do that, especially not with concerns to writing. Oh, you're thinking of that review…" he said.

"I would be but since we do have a shared account I would know if you suddenly started spending money for that," Beckett reminded him. She was surprised when Castle chuckled and asked, "What?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking of that fact, we have a shared account," he quickly told her. "I've never done that before."

"Well, that makes sense," Beckett replied, still slightly confused.

"And you do realize that it's a sign that I love you, right?" Castle asked.

"Or that you trust me," Beckett shot back.

"That too but mostly that I love you," Castle said calmly. "But… why did we start talking about our account… oh, your writing. Love, you know you're good."

Beckett nodded then and she said, "I know, before you started feeling unsure of yourself I can tell when you think I've written something really well."

"How?" Castle asked interestedly.

"The way you look at me," Beckett said with a small smile.

"How do I look at you?" Castle said, wanting to know.

"I would say it's a proud dad look, but the fact that you also look at me with a little bit of desire makes that description gross," Beckett said. "So it's more you're appreciative and a pervert at the same time."

"Well… yeah, I guess so," Castle replied. He couldn't help laugh slightly when his wife looked a bit surprised and said, "You didn't think I'd admit to that?"

"No, but thank you for doing so," Beckett said, since it did help her to feel a little more confident in her writing abilities. "Should we get back to the game though?"

"Yeah, we just barely started," Castle said. "And we were having fun too I think."

"You think, you're not sure?" Beckett teased him.

"Giving you a chance to say you weren't," Castle said, moving a pawn then.

"You just want me to kiss you again," Beckett said as she moved another pawn.

"Perhaps," Castle said, not looking at her as he was studying the board. He glanced up at her and saw that she was rolling her eyes, making him smile at the sight of it since it was done without any kind of awkwardness. When he made his next move he then said, "Okay, so…" as he had been able to capture a pawn of hers.

"Hold on," Beckett said, heaving a fake sigh of impatience as she was getting up. She settled on his lap and wasn't really too surprised when Castle kissed her, pushing on the small of her back before they were dueling a little with their tongues inside of her mouth. When they'd finally stopped, panting for air, she stood up to go back to her chair, feeling her husband taking her wrist. "Let go love," she told him.

"But… you won't have to keep getting up," Castle said, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"No, but I'd like to tease you a little longer," Beckett told him simply. She was surprised when he immediately let go of her hand and asked, "Okay?"

"Oh, yeah, great," Castle replied immediately. When his wife just continued to stare at him he then said, "I kind of deserve it."

Sighing at that, Beckett said, "What do you want to do for penance?"

"For… what?" Castle asked as he realized the word she'd used.

"Penance, because you apparently want to beat yourself up about what happened still," Beckett said simply. "I forgave you and I punished you enough with the way I was with you all day."

"I feel like it's not enough," Castle said.

A little surprised; as she hadn't thought that he'd agree with her that seriously, Beckett said, "It is, trust me Rick."

"Well, then why don't I make it up to you with… something…" Castle said.

"Are you sure you want to commit to that," Beckett asked in amusement, moving her knight then as she wanted to get back to the game.

"Yeah, you're not my mother… well actually if you wanted to buy an outfit, why not?" Castle replied, looking at all his pieces before moving one of the few pawns he had remaining.

"I'll pass," Beckett said simply.

"Then think about it, whatever you want," Castle urged her.

Beckett couldn't help but laugh at his expression which was so earnest and she was pleased when she was able to take his knight then as it enabled her to get up and go around to him. She kissed him deeply as soon as she was sitting on his lap and once they'd parted she whispered, "Then promise me you'll take me tonight."

"No, that doesn't count," Castle said, leaning back. When he saw the disbelieving look on her face he quickly added, "I'll take you… gladly," as he ran his hands up and down her sides slowly. "But that's not part of the deal."

"We don't have a deal Rick," Beckett told him.

"Okay, then my idea," Castle quickly corrected himself.

Sighing as she knew she wasn't going to shake him about that, Beckett then got an idea and smiling she said, "Then you can take me tomorrow to the stables so we can see Alex and Julius."

"Not that either," Castle said. When she looked a little annoyed he explained, "We do that all the time Kate."

Sighing, Beckett said, "Then when we go back to the city next weekend, we'll go to Serendipity after Le Circe."

Opening his mouth to protest that, since it still didn't seem like enough to him, Beckett was leaning over and whispered into Castle's ear, and he froze. "You're… oh, you're kidding," he said in relief when she pulled back and he could tell by her expression. "I thought you really wanted that one."

"I don't," Beckett said, since she'd told him to order their thousand dollar sundae for them. "I really can't think of anything love, but if I do, I guess I can just tell you."

"Yeah, whenever you want, I owe you now," Castle said, nodding his head. They then looked at the board again and he said, "Okay, should we get back to this?"

"I think so, we're nearly finished," Beckett replied as she got up. She wasn't surprised when her husband again tried to bring her back to him but she merely flashed a look at him before he stopped and sat back. She knew that was a gargantuan effort on his part, easily able to feel his erection as she'd sat with him, but she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hesitate when they moved to the bed; which she herself was hoping was soon as it was hard to go completely unaffected.

"So," Castle said, studying to make his next move. "I wonder what Brad's going to want to do next."

Looking up at him, Beckett was a little startled he was trying to turn their attention back to the case when she realized why he had said that. He was still unsure and she suppressed a sigh of frustration as she went along with him for the moment. "I don't know, it's weird though that Hines had nothing to do with the murders except for the bike," she replied, since they'd had enough evidence from some blood found on the second vic's shirt that ended up not being hers nor Hines who had been Simon and Stan.

"You don't think it's…" Castle said.

"No, you know he wouldn't let us suddenly find out this time around," Beckett told him firmly; as she'd been thinking of Tyson herself. "I'm pretty sure he'd send us flowers again, to taunt us."

"And we haven't done anything to break that… promise, whatever you want to call it," Castle replied, looking at the board.

"Rick," Beckett said then. When he looked up at her she said, "We've done everything we can, they're getting DNA from the blood and we'll have a fresh start with the evidence now we know that it wasn't Hines but whoever visited him down by the creek."

Nodding, as he knew she was right, Castle made his next move and managed to capture her bishop. He reached out to her as she came to him and took her kiss as she beat him in doing that. When she suddenly squirmed down against his lap he grunted and then hurriedly pulled away. "Love?" he asked.

"You moved before I could finish," Beckett said with a smile, brushing her lips against his. "Let's set aside the case for tomorrow and focus on us tonight, okay?" She smiled when he nodded and abruptly got up.

"Hey, what did you just say!" Castle protested. The look his wife shot back over her shoulder before she turned to sit in her chair left him momentarily breathless and he then said, "Yeah, this is why we're going to be celebrating way past our tenth anniversary." He was surprised when she hesitated, about to pick up her queen and said, "What?"

"You see us going that far?" Beckett asked.

"You don't?" Castle asked instead of answered, not surprised his tone was panicked since that question had scared the hell out of him.

"No, I do, I just… wasn't sure you'd be too," Beckett said. "Check."

"Are you looking forward to that?" Castle said with a smile as he glanced at her.

"We haven't even gotten to our fourth anniversary," Beckett replied, smiling as she spoke. "I'm taking it one year at a time; one day at a time."

"Makes sense," Castle said simply. He then moved his queen and leaning back said, "Checkmate." He looked at her as she continued to smile at him and said, "You didn't throw the game did you?"

Giving him a look as she was going to him again, Beckett then sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around him before their lips met. She would have smiled at the fact that he was there to meet her but she was too busy trying to take his tongue as it fought against hers. When they parted to breathe she was going to move but gasped, holding onto his neck as he picked her up, carrying her to the bed. She could then sense that the mood around them both had changed and was pleased, since she knew that he'd managed to lose his hesitation. When he set her down on the edge of the bed she made him stop as he tried to lay her down, instead cupping his face with her hands to kiss him again.

Although he'd wanted to wait; having been intending to work up to the point when they began to undress; Castle let it go, not really able to stop kissing his wife back. He held her as close as he could to him while they were tilting their heads back and forth, getting a sudden idea in his head as he ran his hands over her back. Pulling away he looked into her eyes intently before he kissed her again, feeling her responding immediately. Once she had he realized that he could stick with his idea of patching things up between them and he took her back onto his lap as he pulled her body with his turning one to do so.

Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly, Beckett slid her hand up through his hair before she rubbed in an up and down motion. They were still kissing when she did that so it was little surprise when he jerked away slightly before she was following him, kissing him again. She felt his hands slide underneath her blouse and she breathed out, moving back from him. "Are you-" she started to say when he moved his hands away from her.

"Not yet," Castle interrupted her quickly before he was kissing her again. She was very quickly responding and he took that into a hungry duel against her as he ran his hands up and down her back, keeping them outside her blouse.

Beckett stroked her hands over his face when they were catching their breath, feeling his hands pressing her even closer than she already was. She smiled at that movement and she said, "Are you trying to get me to meld into you?"

"No, just… trying," Castle said before he paused and then shook his head. "I'm trying to feel you basically," he said.

"You're not risking it being that honest?" Beckett teased him.

"I hope not," Castle replied. He expected her to give him a verbal response but when she instead merely smiled and then got off his lap he began to become a bit concerned. But when she merely moved back to where he'd set her down before he breathed out in relief but that stopped short as she reached up and opened the top button on her blouse. "You… so that's a no I'm not?" he asked, more to be able to breathe than to hear her answer since he was aware of it already with her doing that.

"It's a no," Beckett said simply, smiling again at him before she undid the second. She wasn't too surprised when he suddenly leaned over and brushed his lips against her fingers. She had to wonder if he'd been trying to get to her chest but when he didn't stop she slowly pulled them away.

Taking advantage of that immediately, Castle leaned down and proceeded to press his lips to the hollow of her throat, kissing around her skin and shuddering when he felt the warmth of it. He went down further until he reached her blouse and then moved back only because he had to. He took over unbuttoning the dark blue fabric the rest of the way but didn't remove it once it was open. Looking up into his wife's eyes he bowed his head and then broke their gaze as he started to brush his lips against the swell of her right breast. He did the same to her left and then moved back, helping her with the blouse.

Once it was off, Beckett stopped him from reaching behind her to unclasp her bra and instead placed his hands in between her mounds, watching him closely. She could almost see his breathing becoming heavier at that and she soon felt the black fabric loosening before he was pushing it off her arms.

It was then that Castle was finally able to lay his wife down and as soon as she was he palmed her right breast, moving his thumb in a circle around her nipple. When he felt it contracting under his touch he swallowed a little hard before he leaned down and took it with his mouth. He felt Beckett's hands grab onto the back of his head tightly as he proceeded to suckle at her carefully, hearing her moaning softly in pleasure. He kept that up for a while before moving over to her other mound, taking it a little more eagerly. He was a bit surprised when his wife carefully pushed him away from her and he looked at her questioningly, again startled when she laughed softly.

"Sorry, you look a little dazed," Beckett said, stroking his cheek with one hand.

"Yeah, I… thought I'd be downstairs tonight," Castle said honestly.

"Hmm, but you're not," Beckett said, sighing when he began to kiss at her neck. "Hurry," she told him.

Shuddering roughly at that, since her tone of voice had deepened dramatically, Castle pulled back and he reached for the fly of her jeans. He paused suddenly as he got an idea and he hurried to get her to stand. "Sorry, but…" he started to say as he helped her pull the denim off her hips.

"No, I was giving you a clear invitation," Beckett replied with a small smirk that he didn't see as he was busy pulling off her panties. "And I'm glad you're taking that seriously."

"I can't help it," Castle said before he placed his hands on the small of her back once she was naked, drawing her close.

Watching him, Beckett felt her body trembling as he was kissing around her abdomen and then down to her mound. Her breath soon responded in kind and she bit her lower lip as he sat up straight again and at the same time cupped her ass. When he looked up at her she reached for his wrists, pulling on them so she could get him to stand up. When he had, she worked with him to get off his shirt, kissing in between each button; hurried kisses that she hoped frustrated him as well.

As soon as his shirt was discarded to the floor, Castle tried to wrap his arms around his wife but she stopped him by reaching for his pants. He helped her again until he was naked and he grabbed her by her wrists to keep her from touching him. He kissed her again and abruptly ended it before he picked her up, laying her down in the middle of the bed.

"You're-" Beckett started to say when he climbed on top of her. He kissed her deeply again and she hurried to respond, taking his tongue in her mouth before they parted. You-" she started to say again. But he cut her off by pressing his lips a little wildly around her breasts and she was moaning heavily as each touch set off a spark of warmth that seemed to shoot straight down to her sex and she shifted a little before he slid further. "Rick…" she breathed as he descended further, and kept going until he made it to her mound. "You don't need to," she told him.

"I want to," Castle reassured her before he touched her right thigh. When she spread her legs immediately for him he settled in between them and pressed his lips directly at the apex of her legs before sliding down again. When he reached her clit he wasn't all that surprised to find it already swollen. He took it with his mouth, flicking his tongue to the very tip of it feeling Beckett's fingers sliding through his hair, nails raking at his scalp as well. He ignored his own desire as he moved down, running his tongue along her swollen folds, gulping as the taste of her desire seemed to explode on his tongue.

Feeling the warmth of his appendage, Beckett couldn't help her reaction of twisting slightly to her right, her knee drawing up before Castle was throwing her leg over his shoulder. "Oh… god… don't stop…" she moaned deeply as he had slipped his tongue within her. He was licking there and feeling him more clearly she dug her fingers into the bed on either side of her. At his sudden rhythm she was pushing herself up, not to watch him but because her body automatically did that. But she found that she couldn't see him and she moaned softly that time as all she could see was his head, moving a little frantically as he'd sped up.

Castle had to get control of himself, a little roughly, when he realized how fast he'd started going on his wife. But he managed to get back to where he'd been before and he finally pulled away from her, not far enough to look at her but enough to keep from continuing. "Do you want to come?" he asked.

"Look at me Rick," Beckett commanded him. When his head shot up to look at her she smiled slightly at his startled expression and she then said, "I want you coming with me."

Gritting his teeth together hard at her tone of voice, Castle moved to push himself up to her. He grabbed a pillow and helped her raise her hips so he could tuck it beneath her. Once he had her right leg under his arm he let her grasp his length, hissing a little at the shock her touch instantly provided. But finally he was sliding into her and he had to breathe out heavily before he stopped, fully within her. "Love…" he whispered.

Before she could reply to that Castle was moving within her and Beckett closed her eyes tightly as the first thrust was a jolt of electricity through her entire form, making her press herself back into the bed as hard as she could. "Oh… yes… Rick please…" she heard herself whispering as she could feel him against her then, so much different from his tongue. She had to admit that her thought of his tongue being extremely satisfying was true but it lacked the depth that his member was getting within her and she tightened her legs that were by then both around him. She was moving with him as best she could, loving the sensation of their hips meeting as he was making love to her. There was a part of her that wanted to beg him to fuck her but she held back, suddenly thinking that they both needed to start slowly so they could return to how they'd been before their argument.

Unaware of what his wife had been thinking, Castle had nearly the same exact thought going through his mind too. But he was focusing more on how he could make sure that they were back to normal. A sudden thought ran through his mind after that; how he needed to do what he could to make sure she knew he loved her, not realizing that he'd said that aloud until Beckett was moaning, "I know already." He looked at her in slight shock at that and said, "W-what?" stammering as he was feeling the friction between them; the little they were moving.

" _I know you love me_ ," Beckett replied, stammering on the words but making sure she was able to say them all. " _And I love you… just, keep moving_."

Not sure if it was her sex surrounding him, the feel of their bodies moving together, her tone or her Irish, Castle lost a little control of himself then and he started to ram in her harder than he realized he could. He was luckily brought back to himself when she nearly gasped in response and he hurriedly apologized, easing up his pace until he was going slowly. That made him get an idea and he slowed down to where he was barely moving, watching Beckett then to see her reaction. When her fingers on his back suddenly dug in he grunted heavily as he comprehended why she was doing that. They were suddenly feeling one another, slow centimeter by centimeter that he was going in and he didn't change his rhythm until he'd nearly pulled out of her.

So close to the edge already, Beckett had to wonder why it was she wasn't orgasming and violently as the slow motion had nearly thrown her into it. But finally he was making love to her again and she watched as his head bowed down and he proceeded to take her breasts. She was a little startled when he brushed his lips across the nipples before nuzzling them and one of her hands moved up immediately to cup the back of his head. "Rick…" she whispered before she watched his lips parting to take the nub with his mouth. Her back arched the instant he started to suck at her and she was fighting with herself and the feeling the soft suction provided; more energy that she wasn't sure was electricity or just pure sensation. It didn't matter as it went straight down to where they were coupled, making it build steadily.

Castle did the same to her other breast, able to tell she was feeling more with the way her sex pulsed a little harder around him. He kept that up until finally he had to get more than a quick gasp of air and he moved away, but only so he could detour to her lips. He took them; debating the second before if he should do that or crush his mouth onto hers. But the slightly gentler method won out and he was suddenly plunging his tongue past her lips that just barely managed to part for him. He tilted his head as he seemed to go a little crazy and he groaned as she moaned back to him, parting before they crushed against one another again. " _I love this… you… goddess_ ," he nearly growled to her.

"Yes! Oh god Rick, fuck me!" Beckett cried out, arching her back roughly. She lay back down in time to see her husband suddenly looking startled and she then felt him slowing down immediately. "Why-" she began to ask.

"I can't… not until you let me," Castle breathed, unsure if she was going to understand what he meant by that.

"You can… but I like this right now," Beckett said, as him slowing down had gotten her away from her edge quickly. "But after this… if you can, you can fuck me."

"If… if I can?" Castle asked incredulously before he studied her face and could see she'd been teasing him. He growled that time and whispered, "Vixen," against her lips before he closed the gap in between them, crushing his against them right out before they kissed hectically at first, her nails digging into his shoulders in response.

Flicking her tongue against her husband's, Beckett wasn't surprised when he instantly reacted, tangling his own around it. They fought a little before she beckoned him inside of her mouth, moaning deeply before they were parting and he was pushing himself up on his hands. She bit at her lower lip as she could easily tell that he was staring at her and watched his right hand come up and start caressing at her body. When it went in between them she moaned as his fingers immediately sought her clit. She wasn't surprised to feel an instant reaction and she hurriedly reached down to stop him. "I'm too… close," she breathed to him.

Nodding, since he couldn't really say anything to that, Castle moved his hand and reached up to her breasts, cupping the left from the bottom before he slid it up to palm it. He shuddered in pleasure at the feel of it, slightly rubbing the taut nub with his palm, watching Beckett to make sure that it wasn't too much. He then took a chance and moved his hand to pinch the nipple before rubbing it between his first two fingers very slowly. He wasn't surprised when she moved her hips against him, thrusting a bit faster than he was. He had to reach down to her hip to stop her and once they were even again he leaned down to kiss her as he felt that was the safest thing to do.

Moving her hands from Castle's shoulders, Beckett slid them up to his head, running her fingers through his hair until he was shaking against her momentarily. She then moved them down to the back of his neck, holding onto him there tightly. They finally pulled apart once their kiss had run its course and she sighed as he descended to her neck. She had her eyes closed tightly while she felt him, the pleasure from his kisses around her racing pulse adding to what she was feeling constantly from him moving within her, the same slow and steady pace. She made him tilt his head up and their lips met but in a very chaste, gentle kiss that had her whole body throbbing even harder.

Pressing his forehead against his wife's, Castle slowed down a little and then started to tilt his hips. He made a few clumsy thrusts at first before he finally managed to find her clit and sped up slightly once he had, grunting as she cried out instantly in response. He quickly pushed himself up on his hands, watching her as she was beginning to writhe. But he could tell that she was restraining herself and he quickly told her, "Don't hold back love."

"I don't want to come yet," Beckett whispered, her voice coming out in a moan.

"No you can, I swear I'll follow you," Castle assured her.

"Together?" Becket asked, her body rigid with holding back.

"Together love," Castle said firmly.

A few thrusts simultaneously, their hips meeting from the bottom up to the top, and Beckett felt something deep within her snapping. She let go of her self control, crying out her husband's name repeatedly as she couldn't slow herself down. She was a little surprised to feel Castle joining her rapidly and she held onto him as hard as she could, taking his release as she heard him groaning her name near her ear. She had no idea how long they were moving together, only aware that they'd stopped when she slumped on the mattress and her husband was quick to follow, his weight slightly on her and on his own hands. She sighed as she heard the quiet of their room once more and she smiled a little saying, "I think we've made up." She couldn't help but laugh a little when her husband groaned in reaction to that and she reached up, stroking the back of his head.

"Yeah, I think we did," Castle finally said when he'd recovered. He moved away from her then and he lay on his side, wrapping his arms around Beckett as she pressed against him. He kissed her hungrily before she pulled away making him ask, "What?"

Beckett merely smiled before she made him lay down and she moved to rest on his chest. She had her head propped up on her hand as she reached up with her other, brushing his lower lip with her fingertips. She watched him as he moved his own hand, cupping her cheek before she said, "We really have to watch we don't do that again."

"Well, it's been a while since we've had a fight that bad," Castle said, moving his hand then so he could start running his fingers through her hair. "But yeah you're right, next time I feel unsure of myself or anything like that, I'll talk to you."

Smiling at how he'd worded that, Beckett leaned over and shared a kiss with him before pulling back and murmuring, "I didn't mind the making up part you know."

"Again, you're a vixen," Castle said teasingly. He laughed when she pinched his side, and then said, "You think they were ever like that?"

"Who?" Beckett asked, wondering who he was talking about.

"Paul and Linda?" Castle said.

"What made you think of them?" Beckett asked with a laugh.

"I just did, I don't know why it came to mind," Castle replied.

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. She then added, "Maybe, but they seemed to work pretty well together. I think I know now why you thought of them."

Not at all surprised that his wife was able to guess what he'd been thinking, Castle then said, "I just have to wonder if there was ever a time when he was unsure of himself."

"He was, after the Beatles broke up," Beckett reminded him.

"That's true," Castle said quickly as he remembered. "I just hope he never took out his anger about not being able to write a song on her."

"I have my doubts about that," Beckett said simply. She then leaned over, kissing him tenderly before she pulled away murmuring, "They were deeply in love. But Rick, they're not us."

"We're pretty similar, you have to admit," Castle pointed out.

"As you always like to say," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes. She then laughed softly and said, "But right now, I think I'd rather focus on us."

"Me too," Castle replied, looking at her body in front of him. He ran his hand down her side and when she stopped shivering he murmured, "I could have lost this."

"You wouldn't have," Beckett was quick to say. "It just wouldn't have happened for a while."

"And that would have been hell too," Castle replied. "I have to thank David."

"For what?" Beckett asked.

Castle then told her the story their friend had related to him at the bar, and when he'd finished he said, "We're a lot like them too."

"Yeah, that I'll agree with," Beckett said with a smile. "And I actually had heard that story before."

"You did? You reacted pretty much like I would have expected if you hadn't," Castle said in surprise.

"I remembered at the end, with you saying he let her take the case," Beckett said. When her husband nodded she then leaned over, kissing him on the lips before she lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling. But very quickly, the blue and white were obscured as Castle leaned over and started to kiss her deeply. She took a moment to respond but very soon they were fighting against each other until they eventually had to breathe. "So what would you like now? Sleep?" she asked him as she watched him staring at her, a small smile on her face.

"I'm not really tired," Castle said, following her in a rush. He captured her lips with his own and was kissing her passionately, reaching up and cupping her face with his hand. When they moved apart he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "I need to feel you again Kate."

"You will, but not yet," Beckett replied softly, though she could almost hear her body cursing her for that.

"So the teasing is my punishment?" Castle asked.

"Again with the penance," Beckett said, smiling widely at him.

"Think I could maybe suggest my own?" Castle then said.

"Okay," Beckett said, a little hesitantly, as she wasn't sure what he'd say.

"Feel free to spank me," Castle said.

Laughing, as he knew he wasn't serious, Beckett inquired, "Find me a riding crop and I will."

"So evil," Castle replied jokingly. "You know, I'm kind of tempted to actually get one, just to see if you'd use it."

Smiling as she laid back, Beckett said, "I could, but I don't want to make it so you can't sit."

"I'd be okay," Castle said simply.

"But for this?" Beckett said.

Before Castle could ask what she meant by that she was suddenly grabbing him and spinning them around until she was on top of him. He tried to get up as she straddled his lap and was surprised when she pushed him down as he knew she preferred him sitting up when they were in that position. "What… what are you going to do," he grunted when she started to stroke at his chest, her hands feeling like brushes of silk against his skin.

"I just want you to watch me now," Beckett said before she scooted back a little on him. She then reached for his erection, curling her fingers firmly around him. "I have something to ask you," she said, not too shocked to hear her voice was breathy with anticipation; her sex throbbing crazily as she knew she was so close. "Are you finished apologizing to me?"

"Yes, I'll, I'll stop," Castle assured her. He was startled when she suddenly raised herself above him and he nearly bit into his lower lip as she stroked him a few times before taking him within herself. He hissed his breath, in and out roughly as he could feel how aroused she'd become during their time apart and he muttered, "You're addicted to me love; as much as I am to you."

"Hmm, I think I am," Beckett replied, watching his eyes staying between them. She stopped herself when there was only an inch of him left outside of her and then rolled her hips deliberately, moaning as he groaned and clasped his hands down on her hips. She smiled in pleasure and then started to pull on his hands, making him sit up. The second he had she started to bounce up and down on him, crying out in pleasure as she was immediately affected, his length rigid with arousal and deep. She leaned over at the same time Castle was and their lips met in a very passionate, hungry kiss before they were stroking at each other's hair.

Running his fingers through his wife's long and slightly messy locks, Castle was grunting a little during their kiss as he was moving with her, trying to make the friction between them build up. He then parted and stared deeply into her eyes, watching the way her face became a mask of ecstasy when she had moved back down on him. It took him a while but he was finally able to break his gaze and move it down to her body. His hands were unable to stop and he reached up, cupping her breasts, squeezing them a little tightly but very quickly. Beckett's cry was a reassurance that he'd done that in just the right way before she was pushing on the back of his head, getting him down to her right mound. He didn't try to fight that and hungrily devoured her nipple past his lips. Their hips were smacking together and he could hear the bed underneath them protesting their pace. Everything; what he felt with her sex surrounding him and what he could hear; became a rush and he suddenly flipped her around onto her back before he took over.

Crying out her husband's name in her immediate pleasure, Beckett held on tightly to him, trying to match the sudden rhythm he'd set. She felt instant gratification at it, since it was rough and hard enough to make their hips slap together. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let her heels strike his ass, beating out their rhythm until he was stopping. She dug her nails into the back of his shoulders at the abruptness of that and she gasped out, "Don't do this Rick," nearly begging him.

"I have to, I want this for a long time," Castle was breathing out hard.

"You have it, just take it!" Beckett cried. "Fuck me love, please."

Though he was holding her down with the weight of his hips on hers, Castle wasn't all that surprised to find that she was shifting on him and he groaned out before starting to move. But to stick a little with his original idea he began slow and then gradually sped up. They were both soon breathing in heavy, short gasps and he knew she felt the same as he did; the buildup in friction was quick and all encompassing. He felt his entire body throbbing in response to the way hers did and he was all of a sudden stopping after they'd been moving quickly for at least a full minute. He was pleased when his wife didn't complain when he withdrew from her and seemed to sense what he wanted as he made her lay on her side, facing away from him. He lifted her left leg then and pulled it back enough until he was sliding back inside of her.

Moving with Castle as fast as she could, Beckett was relieved when they soon found one another and she was quick to turn her head so they kissed. She cried out when he abruptly turned her onto her stomach and she gasped out, "Why-"

"Just let me… do this for you," Castle said, having to fight with himself not to stammer on the d since he was carefully sliding out of her at the same time. He was pleased when Beckett immediately got onto her knees, laying her upper body down on the bed. He groaned as she sighed when he entered her again and he got on his hands and knees above her. He needed to search for a moment until he felt he was finally at her g-spot. The instant Beckett's cry was a little rougher than normal he was moving hard and fast against her but trying at the same time to keep himself from falling over the edge.

Beckett knew she should try and stop him as she had already figured out that he was going to make her climax. She was a little unsure if he was doing that to make it up to her but as he was brushing his lips over her back, murmuring to her, she lost her determination to make him change their position as he was talking to her lovingly in Irish. She was so caught up in what he was saying that it was a complete shock when she started to orgasm and that added to the strength of it. She was sure she was nearly screaming something to him but what that was she couldn't figure out. Her own voice was muffled to her ears as the waves of ecstasy were swift and overpowering. Overpowering to such a degree that she blacked out, for how long she couldn't know. She was only aware of coming to laying on her back, her husband brushing his lips over hers.

The instant he'd felt her starting to lose it Castle had stopped moving, wanting to just feel her. He didn't blame her for passing out as the feel of her sex trying to desperately take his orgasm though he wasn't having it was intense around him. He wasn't sure how he was able to keep from moving but he did and as soon as she'd stopped moving he'd withdrawn from her, laying her onto her back and kissing her tenderly as she came to. "Okay love?" he asked her, trying not to let his own need for release tinge his voice.

"You didn't come did you?" Beckett asked him, slowly regaining her strength. When he shook his head she smiled and sat up, moving with him until he was sitting up and leaning back on his hands as he bent his knees behind her. When they came together again she moaned in pleasure and then proceeded to move, sighing deeply at the feel of him as she was still throbbing in the aftermath of her climax. She started to move quickly immediately and she wrapped her arms around him. "You could have you know," she told him, pressing her forehead against his.

"How… you were unconcious… I can't…" Castle groaned as he was soon grasping her waist with his hands. "I need you awake, feeling me."

"Pervert," Beckett sighed as his hands slid up her sides soon after he'd said that and he was quickly cupping her breasts. They looked at each other and they closed the gap that had opened between them, crushing their lips as hard as they could together. They groaned as they tasted one another and she was a little shocked to realize she was starting to build herself up again. Though it was quick she suddenly found she wanted to make it go faster. She had to spread her legs a little but soon was able to angle herself down on him and she started to rub her clit back and forth against his skin, crying out as the shock of it was rapidly spreading all around her body. "Oh… oh Rick… god, I don't care… if this was a problem," she gasped out. "I am addicted to you."

Feeling what she was doing, Castle had to fight a literal battle with himself, since he hadn't had the chance to lose control as she had. He was just barely able to do that before he found himself able to respond to her and he pressed his hands tightly to the small of her back telling her seriously, "I am too love… you… can't stop imagining you like this… taking me inside of you. It's… why you're all mine."

Knowing what he expected; since every once in a while they would say that to each other; Beckett tightened her grip about his neck and said seriously, "And why you're mine love." They kissed a little frenetically, until she had to end it by throwing back her head crying out repeatedly in her pleasure her husband's name each time as it snapped through her body like a whip, making every inch of her form burn in the simple joy of it. When Castle's fingers were digging into her back she could soon feel his release and she bit her lower lip once in her pleasure at the sensation. But she was soon holding onto him as he was going a little crazy against her and she had to wonder how badly he'd needed to orgasm.

Castle somehow; towards the end; was able to lay his wife down on her back and he indulged himself in a few more rapid, hard thrusts until he stopped, shuddering as he nearly collapsed on her, trying not to put his full weight on her. "Kate… you're going to kill me," he groaned when he felt the strength to speak eventually.

"Then that'll be your penance," Beckett replied, smiling in satisfaction. "And that has nothing to do with earlier."

"So just in case you need to you've got that?" Castle asked. When he looked up at her and saw her smile, he groaned under his breath before he moved and then got off the bed. He didn't want to leave her but he could feel her exhaustion in her hold of him and he wanted to get them to sleep. Turning off the fire he went back to the bed, watching her sitting up. He paused when he saw the look on her face and said, "Okay?"

"Come here," Beckett replied. Once he was with her, the covers were over their moist bodies and the lights were off she said, "We have to do something for them."

"We'll think of something," Castle replied. He became thoughtful and then said, "The ceramic place?"

Laughing softly at that, Beckett said, "We could, but we'll see tomorrow."

"I have to wonder how they'll react when they see we're okay now," Castle said, running his hand up and down her back.

"They'll be happy," Beckett replied with a smile. "I just hope they'll forgive us for putting them through that."

"That's why I suggested the ceramic place," Castle replied, leaning down and kissing her forehead tenderly before he hesitated and pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Rick…" Beckett breathed as the atmosphere between them changed again. She moved to lie back, taking her husband on top of her before they started to kiss. When they had parted, she whispered to him, "Make love to me, please."

Castle didn't reply to that verbally, instead he reached over and turned on the light on her nightstand quickly before he slid inside of her. "I love you Kate, _always_ ," he told her, his voice tinged with pleasure as they began to move together.

"I love you too Rick _always_ ," Beckett sighed, stroking the back of his head before he was taking her lips again.

The two made love very carefully after that, wanting to take the opportunity to feel one another and their love and to take the time they had together. They put that day behind them as they did that, already looking forward to the next since; to their absolute relief; everything between them was finally resolved.


	5. Where To Reach You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song I'll Give You a Ring by Paul McCartney, a single from his album Tug of War

The click of the lock on the door was loud enough in the silence of the room and Beckett opened her eyes before she saw her husband coming around to her. "Morning," she said, seeing he was wearing his pajamas.

"Hey, morning," Castle quickly said, a little startled that she'd woken up.

"Were you making breakfast?" Beckett asked, sitting up then.

"No," Castle said quickly, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Then why are you dressed and why do you have one of your arms behind your back?" Beckett inquired.

Not replying to that, Castle brought his hand around and showed her what he had been hiding; a small snowdrop in a little pot that had held a flower the girls had given Beckett the year before.

"You went out to get this?" Beckett asked in surprise, since two days earlier when they'd been walking to breakfast with the girls the two had noticed the white flower blooming in the warmer weather. She then glanced out the window and said, "In the snow?" as she saw it was still doing so.  
Nodding, looking pleased as well, Castle said, "I had to get it before the snow killed it. And I know how much you like these so…"

Beckett had to smile at his shrug and she leaned over, kissing him tenderly on the lips before she studied the flower. "We'll have to show the girls," she told him, moving to set it on her nightstand. "For now though, you're cold right?"

"Freezing," Castle said, watching her as she sat up again.

"Perfect, take this off," Beckett told him, tugging on the bottom of his pajama shirt. She wasn't surprised when he helped her and was soon lying back while she watched him remove his clothes. She then said, "So you were naked? No wonder you froze."

"I did take a second to warm up at the vent near the stairs," Castle admitted, climbing onto the bed, feeling the warmth under the covers next to her.

"What time is it?" Beckett asked suddenly, frowning before she raised her head to check. "Early," she teased him.

"Are you tired?" Castle asked, pausing in reaching out for her.

"Not in the slightest," Beckett said as she lay down and pulled him onto her. Their lips met and she initiated a deeper kiss before their tongues met, not surprised when they were a little hungrily fighting against each other before they had to breathe. She bit her slightly swollen lower lip as he immediately began to drift down over her chin and then to her neck, the rush of heat emitting from his lips intense was instant. She stroked the back of his head and murmured, "Your hair is wet."

"It is snowing," Castle said, coming back up to her.

"I feel like I should thank you, properly," Beckett said, stopping him from doing anything.  
"For the flower?" Castle asked, glancing at it. He shrugged and said, "It wasn't that hard to get out, so-" He was a little startled when she suddenly kissed him and he had to scramble for a second to respond before he was roughly doing so. Since she was kissing him the same way he didn't really think anymore about what she'd said, until all of a sudden he could feel his wife's hand in between them, grasping at his erection. "Ah… wait…" he hissed. "You don't have to thank me!"

"What if I said I was using that to get you to want to have sex with me?" Beckett asked, trying not to smirk as she knew how to convince him to want her as she could tell he wasn't sure yet.

"It's making love and I'll do anything… you want," Castle said, his eyes shut tightly as she was lightly, carefully stroking his member. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and reached down, grabbing her wrist a little tightly. "Just not that…" he said before he got on top of her.

"And what makes you think I want this?" Beckett shot back to him.

"The fact you're not shoving me away," Castle told her. "And your legs…" he started to say before he felt her sliding her right along his side. He could instantly hear what she wasn't telling him and he hurried to place her ankle on his shoulder. "And that you want this… how-" he started to say.

"Fuck me," Beckett said, quickly as she didn't want to really waste time with them discussing that. She was a little startled when he leaned down to her then and when he whispered in her ear, she smiled and said, "You're back."  
"No, we're back," Castle corrected her simply before kissing her. It was slow, very sensuous and he was reluctant to pull away from her when he absolutely had to. "Help me Kate."

"I would call you a pervert, if you weren't right about this," Beckett said, her smile lost as she reached down in between them.

Though he was a little close to her, Castle was able to watch as she parted her folds for him and he shuddered. "Okay… I might be a pervert, but…" he said, breathing out.

Beckett was a little surprised when her husband was able to move after staring at her for a few minutes and she bit at her lower lip as she then felt his erection slide into her. She let go of herself and held onto Castle's shoulders as they stared into each other's eyes. When he stopped she finally allowed herself to close her eyes and she took his first thrust. It left a rough slapping sound echoing in her ears before she was suddenly trying to catch up with him. She moaned as deeply as she could immediately feeling him getting inside her deep since she had her left leg wrapped tight around his waist. She tried to slide it up further but could only go so far until she had to stop. The friction between them was instantaneous and feeling the heat he set off with her shooting up her body she was moaning his name, nearly writhing as she felt his breath close to her lips.

"You know I love you," Castle told her, nearly panting as he had been steadily moving faster since he'd started. "I swear though… that flower…"

"I know, I just wanted you," Beckett whispered as she tilted her head back. She was a little surprised to feel his lips then on her neck and she reached up with her left hand to press on the back of it to hold him in place. She could have sworn her eyes were rolling into the back of her head as he started to hungrily suck on her pulse, the shock of that snaking its way straight to her sex and she had to wonder how long she'd last if he continued to push her in that way. She wasn't sure how long Castle was there but was sure that by the time he broke away she'd have a mark. There was a kind of perverse thrill in thinking that and she moved her leg from his shoulder, wrapping it and the other leg around his waist. She took the opportunity that afforded and drew him down to her lips, kissing him passionately as soon as he had met hers. She slid her fingers through his hair and trembled as he seemed to drive down harder inside of her in response to that. Almost as an instinct, her nails raked over his scalp and she was groaning in surprise as he seemed to lose control.

Whispering an apology, almost breathless with still moving, Castle felt her dig her nails into his head a little bit and he got the message very quickly that he didn't have to feel remorse for that. So since he essentially had her permission he was moving a little wildly for a number of thrusts, loving the way she reacted to him vocally with that. He stared down at her body, watching it moving with him as he got himself back to normal. That made the feeling of her a little less rough and he was suddenly slowing down. Much as he'd done the night before, he was just barely moving, gasping finally for air when he felt the aftermath of his rougher thrusts against her sex. "You… please tell me you can feel that," he said to her, looking into her eyes then. When she merely looked at him he said, "I can feel us moving… like crazy still."

Breathing out a laugh, Beckett nodded her head and moved her hands from where they'd been on the back of his neck again to his cheeks. She drew him down to her and they began to kiss, very short but pressing against each other firmly. She had no idea how long that lasted but when they finally stopped she said, "Go faster," in a nearly harsh tone of voice. "I can't feel you anymore."

Castle knew what she meant by that and he hurried to do it as she wanted since it was exactly what he was wanting. He clutched the sheet on either side of her as he worked himself back up to his rapid pace he'd had before. He moved as hard as he could go and as fast as he could to reach it until he felt he could stop working up to it. He could sense that same rough friction yet again and he closed his eyes tightly before he was startled from his slight reverie feeling her by her taking his hand. Since he was still above her he could watch as she led his right hand down to her breast and he took over immediately in palming it briefly before doing the same quickly to the other. He knew that she didn't mind that as she was reaching up to follow him, squeezing the back of his hand before he was bending down.

Nearly clutching at the back of Castle's head as he proceeded to suck at her right breast, Beckett suddenly stopped moving, nearly smiling when he jerked to a halt himself after realizing what she'd done. She bit her lower lip as he was looking at her questioningly and she finally told him, "I wanted to feel you again."

"Dear god love," Castle groaned in pleasure at her slightly husky tone of voice. "I don't think we're ever going to get around to tantric sex with this, you know that right?"

"I could care less," Beckett told him since he was correct. She looked at him and then couldn't help laughing with him as she knew he too was remembering their pitiful attempts previously with that type of sex. They'd never been able to drag things out for hours, the need to feel too much. And so with that prevalent in her mind, she wasn't too surprised to feel her husband starting up yet again. She closed her eyes tightly in pleasure as they soon started to kiss and she parted her lips for her tongue to meet his as they began to curl around each other and dueled keenly. At the same time she could feel the warmth between her legs spreading up her form. She turned her head to the side as they parted and almost instantly could feel her husband kissing her jaw, drifting up to her ear. She had her eyes closed again, just letting the sensation of his lips brushing against her skin to make it feel hypersensitive until she realized he'd made it to her ear and he began to whisper to her, his voice husky and making her shiver.

"Tell me love," Castle told her. When she moaned out a, "What?" he told her, "Tell me you want me."

Trying to wonder how her husband seemed to know when she had her darker desires, Beckett gave up quickly as she never was able to explain it. So instead she turned her thoughts to complying with his demand; since his tone of voice had left no doubt in her mind that he wasn't going to let her not answer. She took only a brief moment before she spoke, telling him, "I want you Rick… don't stop fucking me I need to feel you…" her moan breaking into her words.

"How, how do you want to feel me," Castle demanded of her though he had to nearly force the words out of his mouth as he was feeling so much from her. Even though they were just moving together it was enough and he had to be grateful again that they'd made up. But he focused his attention back to her abruptly as he didn't want to miss her reply.

"Feel your cock… so deep inside me…" Beckett was sighing, nearly smiling but making herself move still kept her from doing so fully. She sighed as he was down to her neck, nibbling again at her pulse until she turned his head to hers so she could kiss him. When they had slowly parted she whispered, "Tell me Rick."

Shuddering at her tone of voice, Castle was quick to reply to that telling her, "I need you, to feel your sweet body… your pussy so tight and wet. You want me don't you?" When she nodded he immediately said, "Tell me Kate."

"I need you too, just don't stop!" Beckett outright begged him. She gasped when he suddenly lunged his legs against her, which gave him a lot more leverage which meant she was feeling him harder and faster. She nearly bit into her lower lip as he soon tilted her hips up and she squeezed her eyes shut yet again, using that to try and help her take everything in that was coming to her at once. She was a little unsure if she was going to manage to last much longer and had a feeling that she was crying that out to Castle. When his response was to reach down and stroke her clit that was the push she needed; though she hadn't wanted to fall over the edge yet. Her climax was intense and she had to admit that it was far better than the one she'd experienced in her dream the night before. She was moaning and nearly screaming her husband's name before she felt him going a little crazy in his thrusts into her and their hips were smacking together hollowly as her name on his lips joined that sound in the room. She wasn't sure when exactly they stopped, only aware of her body undulating against her husband's until she felt like they were both crashing back on the bed.

Feeling his wife's arms wrapping around him tightly, Castle breathed out once heavily though it shook and he said, "I feel like that was way too much but I wouldn't take back what I said."

"Believe me when I tell you I wouldn't have told you to," Beckett replied, smiling since he would do that every once in a while. "It's amusing to think that if you'd been with any other woman; you would have been fine to let that slide."

Castle didn't respond to that until he'd slipped out of her body and they were lying together saying, "Obviously you're not any other woman."

"So it's because I'm your wife," Beckett said, still smiling.

"No," Castle said so firmly he had to smile when she looked a little taken aback at that. "Because you're my love, my wife and the mother of our daughters."

Taking his kiss, Beckett had to wait until they parted before she said, "Were you watching us last night at all?"

"While you were painting with them," Castle said with a nod. "You're a wonderful mother."

Smiling at that, Beckett moved with him as he lay on his back and reached down to grab the sheets they'd ended up pushing to the bottom of the bed. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder once they were covered and said, "You do that a lot."

"You're all important to me," Castle said simply.

"No, not that," Beckett said, though she was touched at his seriousness with that. "The fact you seem to remind me a lot that you think I'm a good mother."

"Wonderful, I said wonderful," Castle corrected her; making her turn so she was half on top of him. He had his hands on the backs of her shoulders and said, "And I have to remind you, because you don't know do you?"

"When you say it I do," Beckett murmured as she searched his face. "But you don't-" she started to say before he cut her off by kissing her deeply. She moaned as he quickly slid his tongue into her mouth and set off a wild duel between them, as they were going back and forth in between their mouths. When they finally parted she brushed her fingertips against his chin and then remembered something as she was looking at his neck. "Do I have a mark?" she asked, tilting her head to the side so he could see.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling bad about that though," Castle said firmly, lying back with his hands behind his head. He laughed when she pinched him on the side and said, "Okay, okay, sorry, but you can cover it up right?"

"I can but you can't," Beckett said, nearly jumping at him to kiss him. But before they could do so the alarm on her nightstand went off and she froze before she reached him and sighed as he groaned. "We need to get up," she said, but it sounded more like she was pushing herself with that.

"I'll follow you love," Castle said. He was hoping that maybe she would wait a little longer but after she had turned off the alarm he was following her off the bed and going to their closet. "Wait," he told her, taking her hand and making her face him.

Beckett was ready for the kiss that he pressed to her lips and she reached up, cupping his face in her hands as they were very sensuous before parting. "Hmm, tempting, but really-" she started to say.

"Damn," Castle said jokingly. He brushed his lips against hers before saying, "I had to try though."

"Get dressed, I want them to know they don't need to worry," Beckett said as she pushed him slightly over to his side of the closet. She got herself dressed before she was able to go out first and she really looked at the time on her phone.

"Hey, did Brad get something?" Castle asked as he shortly joined her.

"No, I set my alarm way too early," Beckett said. "Well, twenty minutes but still… You know I can help you with breakfast," she told him. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not," Castle said. "What do you say to chocolate chip pancakes?"

"I was thinking strawberry better," Beckett said as he followed her into the bathroom.

"Chocolate chip is their favorite… what about mixing them? Put strawberries on top?" Castle asked.

Washing her face, Beckett smiled at that and told him when her face was dry, "Sounds good, but easy on the chips." She watched him go and sighed slightly before turning her attention to her hair. She brushed it out and put it up quickly into a ponytail before leaving for Julia's room. She checked the two, not surprised they were still asleep, and went down to the kitchen. Setting down the snowdrop in its pot on the table, she went to her husband who was already starting to mix the batter and wrapped her arms around him, kissing just below his ear.

Turning around to her with a smile, Castle saw the expression on her face and said in slight concern, "Are you okay?"

"At the creek yesterday-" Beckett began.

"No, we weren't really in a great place yesterday, neither of us acted like we normally would have," Castle interrupted her as he knew what she was going to say.

"It wasn't that," Beckett replied. "I just left you when we were chasing him and you were nearly killed. I told myself I wasn't going to let that happen again and yet… I should have been there for you. I can't lose you…"

Understanding then why she'd looked at him so uncertainly at the creek before she'd gone ahead of them to Brad's car, Castle said, "I can take care of myself love and no one knew he was going to do that." When he saw that hadn't really reassured her he then told her, "I know you were hurt and unsure and that's why you did that. But you've learned from…"

"My mistake?" Beckett said when he suddenly stopped and looked very hesitant. She smiled slightly when he didn't reply and said firmly, "My mistake, I promise you I won't do that again." She wrapped her arms around him and murmured, "Let's promise we won't just walk away from each other, if we ever fight like we did again."

"Agreed and I'm agreeing with that wholeheartedly so you know," Castle said. "So we can move on now, put this behind us because I'm not angry at you."

"I know, but I'm so sorry Rick," Beckett said meaningfully before she let Castle kiss her deeply.

When they'd finally pulled apart Castle said, "Apology accepted but again, I wasn't mad." They shared another kiss, a brief one before he then asked, "They're not up?"

"I know you checked already," Beckett replied as they reluctantly let go of each other at the reminder of their daughters, going to the fridge as she looked back at him.

"True, I was hoping they might have woken up between me leaving and then you going," Castle said.

"They'll be up soon," Beckett replied. "I set my alarm to remind me to go." She was taking out some eggs before she felt her husband against her side and said, "You changed your mind about those pancakes?" But as she was speaking she turned to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck before they began to kiss. She was a little concerned about starting to cook before having to get the girls ready but as he pulled back to nibble on her lower lip she sighed and gave in, taking his next kiss eagerly.

Castle slowly parted from her when they needed to breathe and was quick to press his forehead to hers saying, "I feel like we need to make up again."

Knowing that he was teasing her and pleased that he was, Beckett smiled and said, "Three times wasn't enough?"

"Three?" Castle asked, pulling back to look at her in surprise.

"Of course, with that last time last night we got ourselves all set," Beckett replied, unable to help the smirk curling up the side of her mouth. She couldn't help laughing as he did and brushed her lips against his before they heard a sudden gasp and a whispered, "Mommy? Daddy?"

As he turned and Beckett behind him stepped around to look, Castle saw that it was Julia and Eliza; their oldest having spoken. "Hey, morning you two," he said with a smile.

"You… you made up?" Julia asked, trying not to become too hopeful but feeling she could be as she'd seen the way they were kissing.

"Yeah, we did, we're okay now," Beckett said, smiling at Castle as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Julia took off at a run until she reached her parents, throwing her arms around them both and hugging them. "I thought you weren't… did you sleep in bed with Mommy?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her father as she pulled back from them.

"I did," Castle said with a laugh. "I apologized to her after you two were asleep."

"And I accepted it and I apologized to him too," Beckett said, to make sure the girls knew they were fine. "Eliza?" she then said, thinking of the toddler.

"No more fights?" Eliza asked, talking around her thumb in her mouth.

Going to her, Beckett picked her up and held the toddler up above her for a moment before she put her against her hip. "No more fighting," she said as she knew what Eliza had been trying to say. She kissed her cheek and took her over to Castle who shared a kiss with her. "Okay, so we're good now and we need to make you two breakfast before getting you ready for school," she told the girls.

"We don't need to get dressed?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Nope, so you want to help me with the pancakes?" Castle asked. He leaned over when Julia nodded eagerly and shared a kiss with her before he went to Beckett.

"We already… kissed," Beckett said, having to pause as they shared a quick one.

"Doesn't hurt to get another one in," Castle replied before he went with Julia to the stove.

"He's right Mommy," Julia said quickly as she watched her mother set down Eliza on the counter on the other side of the stove. "What are you doing?"

"Making the eggs," Beckett said, smiling at the toddler as she tangled her fingers in her ponytail. "With Eliza's help of course," her smile a little wider as the toddler squealed and bounced a little on the counter.

With that the four finished getting breakfast ready and as soon as Castle was turning to the coffee machine Julia and Eliza went to the table to start getting it set before they both stopped in surprise when they'd gotten close to it.

"Mommy where did you get this?" Julia asked, looking back at the kitchen.

"Your daddy," Beckett said simply as she walked up behind them with the bowl of scrambled eggs. "It's the one you two saw when we walked to breakfast."

"You went in the snow?" Julia asked.

"I did, you know your mother loves those," Castle was saying absently.

"I think Mommy likes any flowers," Julia said.

"Except marigolds," Beckett murmured as she walked over to her husband when he beckoned her over to him. She took the mug he handed her, and smiled saying, "Are you taking secret art lessons?" as she looked up from the snowdrop flower in the foam.

"Not really, I just focus on shapes," Castle said. When she gave him a look he quickly said, "Not those shapes; and that was this morning," the latter said in an undertone as he could see the girls were watching them as they finished setting the table. "But you like it right?"

Beckett merely kissed him to give him her answer and when she pulled away she wasn't too surprised to find their daughters right next to them. "Where are your slippers?" she asked them since they'd been so quiet.

"We were in a hurry," Julia said defensively, peering at the top of the coffee. "Oh, it's perfect," she breathed. "What does this one mean?"

"Consolation or hope," Beckett replied.

Nodding as she thought about that, Julia commented as they were walking over to the table, "Yeah, that makes sense 'cause it means spring is coming… or it's supposed to."

"At least it's not snowing so hard we can't walk…" Castle began, trailing off.

"Why don't you just ask me outright?" Beckett asked with a laugh as she watched him set Eliza into her high chair. "I'll check if it's too cold for her first."

"Good idea," Castle said, leaning down and kissing the toddler's temple. He smiled when she giggled and then asked, "Did you like the flower I made?"

"That one," Eliza said.

"She likes the real one more," Julia quickly translated.

"Me too," Beckett said, sitting down then before she got some of the eggs and the smallest pancake on the stack that Castle had made onto Eliza's plate. After they'd all gotten their food and had started eating she remembered something and said, "Your dad and I decided on something last night."

"About me?" Julia asked, since her mother had been talking to her.

"We're going to take a little break from writing," Castle began.

"Was that what you were fighting about?" Julia nearly whispered.

"It was," Beckett said. When she saw her husband's surprised expression she quickly told him, "I'm not going to lie because she's already figured it out."

"I did, I was just checking to see," Julia replied. "What-"

Knowing that the little girl was going to ask what that fight was about specifically Castle quickly said, "I was a little stupid and I argued with your mom because I was mad at myself. But we got it all resolved and we're going to take a break like I said."

"So are you just going to work cases?" Julia asked, seeing Eliza looking up at that.

"No, we want to start your book," Beckett replied.

A wide smile appearing on her face, Julia said, "Really?"

"Really, we want to see what we can do with your idea," Castle replied, unable to help smiling himself at her joy.

"But I have school, how do we start?" Julia asked.

"When you're finished with your homework," Beckett said. "Or at night if you want; during the weekends. But-"

"Your homework needs to be finished," she, Castle and Julia all said at the same time, making Eliza burst into giggles as Beckett looked at the other two in surprise.

"Am I that predictable?" Beckett asked as she then began to smile.

"I would have said the same thing too," Castle replied. "And she knows already. So it wasn't so much you were predictable, just that we all knew. But what about starting tonight, just see if we can at least plan the first case Macca's going to solve?"

"Okay," Julia said happily. She then frowned and said, "Do I have to make a wheel diagram."

"For the plot?" Castle asked, when Julia nodded he laughed and said, "No, I hated having to make those things to plan my essays, the cloud ones too. No, we'll show you how your mom and I do that with our plots tonight. Teach you our tricks."

"You mean write it down in a few sentences?" Beckett asked him, her eyebrow slightly raised.

"Exactly," Castle said. When the girls both giggled at that he leaned over, kissing his wife on the lips gently before pulling away.

"You are gonna write again together still aren't you?" Julia asked, watching them before her parents went back to their food.

"Of course, this is just a short vacation from it," Castle replied.

"He's right," Beckett said, smiling when their oldest turned to her to make sure. "Until then though we'll have plenty to do."

"Her book?" Castle said.

"And our every day stuff," Beckett said.

"Ah, I think that's your mom trying to say we should finish eating so we can take you two to school," Castle said with a nod.

"We're almost done," Julia replied before she looked at Eliza. "Well, most of us."

"Sweetheart," Castle said quickly as the toddler was sitting next to him. He quickly took the squashed slice of strawberry out of her hand and said, "You need to eat them, not make juice."

"No," Eliza said, tilting her head away as he tried to feed her another slice.

"I think she's done love," Beckett said, watching his efforts. "You're full sweetie?" When the toddler nodded she stood up and said, "You two finish, I'll take her upstairs to get ready."

When Beckett and Eliza had left Julia asked her dad, "You did apologize first right?"

"Since it was my fault we got into that argument?" Castle said. When she nodded he couldn't help laugh slightly at that and said, "Actually we said it at the same exact time."

"Oh," Julia said, before she suddenly smiled. "I wish I could have seen that."

"So do I, did Eliza know we'd fought?" Castle asked as he took the plates then as they had finished.

"I don't know if she understood that," Julia replied honestly. "I think she just knew something was wrong."

"Yeah, you two are the exact same; insanely observant," Castle replied before he led the little girl up the stairs. While she went into her room he continued down the hall into Eliza's saying, "Nice choice today."

"Mommy picks it," the toddler replied as she tugged her light green sweater, tilting her head back as her father approached to share a kiss with him.

"Head back up Eliza," Beckett said with a smile before she continued brushing her hair. "Julia's getting dressed?"

"She is," Castle replied, sitting next to their daughter.

"Yes?" Beckett asked, looking up to see him staring at her.

Eliza giggled, making her parents start slight in surprise at the sound before she said, "Daddy's special face."

"Special face?" Castle asked in amusement as he tried to pull her onto his lap.

"I told her sometimes when you look at Mommy you have a look on your face like you had downstairs giving her the coffee," Julia explained, coming in as she was dressed in her uniform.

"She's right," Beckett said, taking the brush the little girl handed her to start combing her hair. "You do."

"What about your mom?" Castle asked quickly.

"Special smile," Eliza said quickly, poking slightly at the corners of her father's mouth.

"You two know us so well," Castle said.

"I hope so, we're your girls!" Julia said, starting to turn her head towards him.

"Look forward Julia," Beckett said, making her turn back. She finished soon after that and said, "Do you want anything in it?"

"Just a headband and I can do that myself, thanks Mommy!" Julia said, taking her brush and then leaving the room.

"We'd better get you bundled up," Castle said, picking up Eliza as Beckett took their youngest's brush to put away. "We'll see you in the entry love."

"I'm coming right now," Beckett said as she hurried after them out to the stairs.

"Mommy," Julia said quickly as she joined them. "How do I look?"

"Great, you're all set? Your homework is done and you have the books you need?" Beckett asked her.

"I didn't have to take any, so yeah. And I finished my homework yesterday," Julia said simply before they stepped from the staircase into the foyer. She got her boots on as Castle was helping her little sister with hers and said, "Think you can make it today?"

"We'll try," Castle said as he was then starting to get Eliza's outer layers on her.

"But we might not be there for the full class," Beckett said, helping Julia with her layers. "Maybe the last half hour or forty-five minutes."

"That's okay, we're doing the Flamenco again so I just want you to see it for a little at least," Julia replied.

"Like we always do, we'll try," Castle replied. "Any chance you'll be in costume today?"

Laughing at that, though it was muffled by the scarf her mother was putting over her mouth, Julia said, "No, but I wish! I'll just wear my long skirt."

"Do spins?" Eliza asked, waddling a little to her sister as she was completely bundled up.

"For you, sure," Julia replied, hugging her. She then held her mittened hand as they watched their parents finish with their coats and scarves before Beckett stepped outside. "Weren't you supposed to do that before we go?" she asked before she realized that it had stopped snowing and the sun was just barely shinning through the clouds.

"Will you carry her?" Beckett asked Castle as she came back to where they were waiting at the front door.

"Of course," he said before he was picking up their youngest. "On the shoulders?" he asked her.

"She's too bulky today, another time; in the spring," Beckett said quickly before she grabbed Eliza's backpack. She waited for him to take Eliza out as Julia followed, locking the door behind her before joining the others already walking down to the end of the driveway.

"I hope Mari walks with us," Julia said as they turned the corner.

"Looks like it's Mari and Rebecca," Castle said, seeing the two waiting on the sidewalk in front of the Foster's home. "Morning."

"Good morning," Rebecca said as Mari went straight to Julia and took her hand. "How're you doing?"

"Good," Beckett said, shaking her head when Castle hurried to follow the girls, not surprised that he'd guessed Rebecca wanted to talk to her. "So you're aware of yesterday I'm assuming."

"That's right, so you two are fine now," Rebecca stated instead of said.

"We are, we talked and everything's worked out now," Beckett said.

"What about your writing? David mentioned it had to do with that though we don't know specifics of course," Rebecca was quick to assure her.

"Of course, and we're taking a break, Rick's near writer's block," Beckett said.

"You can tell?" Rebecca asked.

"He looks for distractions when that happens and this fight was a pretty big one," Beckett said with a slight nod. "But we're not exactly stopping writing completely; we're going to try writing the book idea that Julia had."

"That should be fun," Rebecca began. She then said, "With her right?"  
"Yes," Beckett said with a laugh. "So enough of that how's Dani?"

When they reached the school, Rebecca stopped talking abruptly and said, "Sorry didn't mean to go on and on the rest of the walk."

Shrugging Beckett said, "I did the same when Eliza was the same age."

"No you didn't," Rebecca said simply.

"No, but I did ask you a lot of questions," Beckett replied, a smile on her face as they went into the Elementary school building. "That's sort of the same."

"Sort of being the main idea," Rebecca replied. "I'll take Eliza today?"

"Do you want to?" Castle asked, since they'd all gathered in front of the toddler's classroom.

"I do," Rebecca said. "David's staying home, we have a case we're giving to Gary and we need to prepare some things for him."

"What about Julia?" Beckett pointed out.

"What I've done before, bring Eliza, get Mari and go to the studio," Rebecca replied simply. "Nothing really that complicated about it and I haven't been able to do that for a while now."

"David wants some daddy-daughter time," Castle said, unable to help smiling.

"He does," Rebecca said. "Don't make fun of him though."

"Hey, I have to pay him back for when he'd say the same to me when Eliza-" Castle began to say before his wife had grabbed him by the arm. "Never mind."

"Okay Eliza, go with Rebecca later when school's over," Beckett told the toddler who quickly nodded. "And Julia, just in case we don't make it-"

"I'll go with Rebecca," the little girl nodded.

"We'll see you guys, I'm heading home as soon as I get Mari in her class," Rebecca said. She smiled when her daughter and Julia promised to see each other at recess and then went down the hall hand in hand with Mari.

"Inside, it's going to take a while to get all of that off you," Beckett said as Castle and Eliza turned to her. "And Julia, we should get started on you."

"When do you come?" Eliza was asking as Castle took off her sweater and put it away in her cubbyhole last.

"Soon and by that I mean tomorrow," he replied, smiling when Eliza bounced up and down a little on her feet, clapping her hands. "Really quickly because I think we need to hurry to get your sister up to her class, have a great day sweetheart."

"Thanks Daddy, you too," Eliza said, hugging him before sharing a kiss with him.

"I'll see you at recess Lizzy," Julia said, hugging her sister. "Have fun."

"Too," Eliza replied, giggling as her sister laughed. "Miss you Mommy, and Daddy," she said as Beckett knelt in front of her.

"I know sweetie, we'll miss you too but pay attention and have fun, like your sister said," Beckett replied as they hugged. She shared a kiss with the toddler before standing, watching her hurry over to a table with some of her friends. She then looked at the clock and said, "Yeah, we do need to hurry."

"She already left," Castle said, nodding to their oldest who was going out the door as he spoke.

"I have to wonder what she's anxious about today," Beckett said, smiling as she knew Julia would be able to hear her.

"Nothing, I don't wanna be late," the little girl shot back as they went up the stairs. When they were in front of her door she said, "Thanks Mommy, Daddy, for coming."

"You know it's not a problem," Beckett said, hugging her. "Have a great day; watch out for your sister at recess… you know everything else I tell you so I won't say it."

Kissing her mother, Julia smiled and said, "I know, I'll see you Mommy."

"One thing, have fun in dance class," Beckett said.

Smiling again at that, Julia hugged her one more time before she turned to her father. "And I'll see you too Daddy."

"We'll miss you Julia but have fun in class," Castle said as they hugged.

"I will, bye," the little girl replied before sharing a kiss with him and then going into her class.

After seeing their daughter was talking to a few other girls inside, Castle took his wife's hand and led her downstairs and then out of the school saying, "Did you get anything from Brad?"

"No, you?" Beckett asked before she put her scarf back over her mouth.

"No…" Castle said absently while he was trying to text the chief. He was a little startled to feel wool over his mouth and looked over at Beckett to see she was pushing up his scarf. "Thanks," he said before the quickened their pace as the wind began to blow.

When they reached their house, Beckett was a little surprised when her husband pulled her to the garage and she asked, "He texted?"

"Yep," Castle said simply.

Giving him a look, Beckett got into the car where Eliza's car seat was and watched him drive in the opposite direction of the station. "So he still doesn't need us?" she asked. She rolled her eyes when he didn't reply and when he soon turned down the path of their stables she said, "I already had a feeling."

"You did?" Castle asked.

"Yes, you're sure this isn't part of your making it up to me?" Beckett replied.

"No, keep thinking," Castle said. When he had parked, he followed her to the buildings, seeing that the owner was walking over to one of them before he called out, making the man stop to look at them.

"Hey, come out to see your horses?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, we just wanted to check on them," Beckett replied. "How are they?"

"Doing well, I'd suggest you take them for a walk in the corral but the snow took care of us clearing it…" Charlie replied. "Oh, Kate, I might get a new horse later next month, a five year old Clydesdale."

"And you want her to work on it?" Castle asked, his eyes slightly wide.

"I can handle it," Beckett replied. "Though I have to wonder at your getting another horse like Alex."

"You'll see once it comes," Charlie replied, reaching into his pocket.

"He's beautiful," Beckett said after looking at the picture on the screen once he'd handed her his phone.

"And now you see why; this is going to be my horse," Charlie said. When Beckett looked up at him he quickly told her, "I trust you Kate and I don't have the kind of touch that you do."

Smiling, Beckett nodded and said, "I'll still do it, don't worry." She handed him the phone back and then pointed at him saying, "You need to let me take care of him on my own."

"With him there," Charlie said, nodding to Castle.

"With him there," Beckett said. When the stable owner held out his hand, she took it and they shook before she said, "Let me know when he arrives."

"I will, have fun seeing your horses you two," Charlie replied before he left them, going into the building they'd been talking in front of.

"You don't think I could handle a Clydesdale?" Beckett asked her husband wryly when they were alone. Her smirk deepened as she then asked, "Or are you jealous?"

"Of a horse? Come on," Castle scoffed. He then nodded and said, "A little yeah."

" _But I'm married to you, not the horse remember_ ," Beckett said, taking his wrist and leading him to the building their horses were stabled in.

"That's true," Castle replied. When she shot him a look over her shoulder he reached for her hand and squeezed it saying, " _You still love me_."

" _I might_ ," Beckett teased him. She laughed softly when he nodded and then turned her attention to the inside of the building. It took her a moment to adjust to the darkness compared to the outdoors and she smiled as soon she was able to see her stallion sticking its head out of its stall. She let go of her husband's hand and went straight to the horse, murmuring to it in Irish as she let it get her scent before moving her hand up its nose to its forehead.

Castle had gone to his horse and was rubbing its nose as well as he listened to his wife talking to Alex. He couldn't help saying, "You're sure I don't need to be jealous?"

Glaring at him, though the smile on her face tempered that look, Beckett replied, "I think I know why you're so supportive of me riding horses."

"Why?" Castle asked, stepping away from Julius as the horse was nibbling on his coat.

"You like seeing me like a young girl," Beckett said, smiling as she looked into the stall at the feed trough. She went over to the front of the building, taking off her gloves before she dipped her hand into a container of oats. "Want some?" she asked as she turned to find her husband directly behind her.

"You mean Julius," Castle corrected before he was taking his own handful. "And you're not so much a young girl, more of a woman who's horse crazy. A McCollough woman," he told her.

"So you don't think that makes me less in the way of being strong right?" Beckett asked as she was feeding the oats to Alex.

"It's a part of the many layers that is you," Castle replied.

"Like the onion you compared me to?" Beckett asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Well… how about a cake better?" Castle said, not surprised she'd remembered that comment from the documentary. "A many layered cake with different kinds of it each layer." He became so thoughtful that he didn't realize that his stallion was nibbling on the palm of his hand as he then said, "It's very sweet and you find yourself eager to get to each new one."

"You really believe that," Beckett said, amusement in her tone.

"In effect… yes," Castle replied simply. "But yeah, I don't mind seeing you like this."

Reaching back then on Alex's neck as she lightly scratched his coat, Beckett couldn't help laughing as he nibbled at her shoulder and she spoke to him before straightening up. Sighing she said, "I really wish we could take them out, they're going to be incredibly frisky once spring comes for sure."

"We'll have to try and walk them a little when the weather starts warming up," Castle replied. "Before we ride again."

"Yeah, we'll try," Beckett said. She rubbed Alex's nose before finally stepping back and she had to force herself to leave with Castle as they went to the sink near the door to wash their hands.

Once they'd left, Castle led the way to their car and stopped Beckett before he turned to her.

"What?" she asked in surprise at his slightly intense look in his eyes.

Castle didn't respond to that, instead he leaned down and took her lips with his own, relieved when she was quick to kiss him back. He dueled with her tongue hungrily until finally they were pulling apart with a gasp. "Couldn't resist one more," he explained.

"Sure it's just one?" Beckett asked. When he nodded, she smiled and then said, "I'm not," before she was instigating their next kiss.

With it a lot more passionate than the one before, only the sound of Castle's text alert tone broke them apart and he hurried to get his phone from his pocket. "Yeah… it's Brad… there's been another murder," he said as he read the text.

The two shared a look before they nearly jumped into the car, Castle driving them to the crime scene that Brad had texted, a public beach. They were surprised to find the chief walking up to them, more so when he breathed out in relief and exclaimed, "Oh thank god."

"What is it?" Beckett asked, exchanging a glance with her husband.

"I thought you two weren't going to bother making up yesterday," Brad replied. "So thank you for that, are you ready to get back to the case?"

"Anything from the blood on the vic's shirt?" Castle asked. "Our second one I mean."

"Nothing from the database," Brad replied. "So we're a little at square one. But we're trying to find out more about Hines, see if maybe he has family or friends that would know who he was working with, but no luck; he seems to have been alone. He was institutionalized once, about two years ago, Bernier is looking into that now."

"What about our vic here?" Beckett asked.

"Her name is Adrienne Logan," Brad replied. "She's thirty three and is a nurse in Ronkonkoma."

"So the thing they have in common is they're all from the area," Castle said.

"But a pretty wide area," Brad said. "I get the feeling they were chosen at random though I was hoping for the fact they were all from the Hamptons."

"Which makes it harder to find out who it was choosing them," Beckett replied. "I wonder though, did she work at the same institution that Hines was at?"

"We'll need to check," Brad said. "And we're also going to look into if she had any contact with the Hamptons town council."

By then they'd reached the body on the beach, just before the sand became damp, and Beckett said, "So the same weapon," as she could see the small puncture wound but a massive amount of blood on her blouse and the sand surrounding the body.

"And he cut off her finger," Castle said as his eyes had been drawn to the victim's right hand, missing its pinkie. "A ring?"

"Looks like it, which means of course it was unique," Brad replied as they watched Thayer going over the body. "And could be traced back to him."

"Are you sure she's from Ronkonkoma?" Castle asked.

"Why?" the chief asked as he looked over at him.

"The fact the other two vics had the connection of the town council and also living here in the Hamptons," Beckett answered for her husband. She looked at him and then nodded saying, "Yeah, I was thinking about that myself," she said. "Did you find a driver's license?"

"A little bit down the beach," Brad said, pointing to where some members of the CSU team were. "There's a trail of blood from her purse to this point where she fell."

"Can you tell if she was running?" Beckett then asked.

"The spatter does lean towards that," Brad said with a nod. "But they'll take pictures and say for sure."

"I have to wonder now why these vics are being so profoundly identified," Castle suddenly said as Hutchinson had come over to the chief and was speaking with him.

"You think the killer wants to be found?" Beckett asked.

"You're thinking he's just sloppy?" Castle answered with a question.

"Maybe, but it's possible too that with this institution being involved he could be insane," Beckett said.

Nodding at that Castle said, "I can see why you'd think that. But I get the feeling it's all part of the killer's master plan."

"Master plan?" Brad said, looking over at them.

"Fine, his plan," Castle said. "To gloat over his ability to hide from us until he's ready to reveal himself."

"That might be," Brad said. "Remind me when we find this guy to put him on suicide watch and tell the jail too."

"Will do," Castle said, his head down.

"What're you looking at?" Beckett asked.

"Could you tell where she came onto the beach?" Castle directed to the chief.

"Yeah, over there on the board path," Brad replied with a nod. "They clean it up at night-"

"Time of death?" Beckett asked quickly.

"About four to six this morning," Brad said. "But they clean that path up at night and with the fresh snow, we were able to match her shoeprint to what she's wearing now."

"Anything beyond that path?" Beckett said.

"Nothing that we could find unfortunately, so we know the killer brought her here in a car," Brad replied.

"Lothario again?" Castle suggested.

"I would concur," the chief replied as he saw that Beckett was nodding in agreement with her husband. "So yeah, we need to get to the station, look into our vic here and hope we have a boyfriend."

"Well you do know one thing for sure at least," Castle said as he and Beckett followed the chief back to the street where their cars were. When Brad and his wife looked at him, he said, "You know it's not Hines that's the killer."

* * *

"Alright, so Logan doesn't live in Ronkonkoma, anymore at least," Brad said as he entered his office, looking at a file in his hand.

"She lives here," Beckett said. When the chief nodded she said, "For how long?"  
"About three weeks," Brad answered. "So long enough for the killer to pick her out."

"Are we going to her place or you sending someone else?" Castle asked, surprised when his friend just kept looking over the page he was reading in the file.

"Hold on," Brad replied. "Alright, Bernier talked to her mother, she said her daughter was going on a date with someone last night."

"Let me guess, she didn't know who it was," Beckett said.

"She knew his name, Seth," Brad replied. "But no last name, her daughter never mentioned it as this date was supposed to be a dip in the pond." He then sighed and said, "Her last boyfriend died of blunt force trauma after a car accident five years ago."

"Terrible," Castle replied.

"You think he preyed on her with that?" Beckett said, looking at him.

"I do," Castle said with a nod. "So with those other vics he dated them more than once but this woman just the one time."

"He's being more careful," he and Beckett said at the same time as they looked at each other.

"Great to see you two are really back," Brad said. "But what about his wanting to get caught."

"He wants us to work for it," Beckett said, Castle nodding in agreement with her. "So there's something about her that's liable to identify him."

"Not the ring," Brad said, picking up on what they were thinking then. "And nothing from her purse, the only thing was her license which just gave us her ID." He then set the file down on the desk and grabbed his coat that was next to it saying, "I think we need to go."

Following him, Castle and Beckett went to their car again as Brad had hurriedly explained he wasn't sure if he'd need his squad car to transport a suspect. They had no problem with that and as she drove them to the address they discussed what the killer might have at the vic's new place that would ID him.

"I have to admit, I'm really confused," Castle replied.

"I'm surprised you're admitting that," Beckett as she pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "But I think we need to make sure we keep that institution in mind."

"Oh I agree," Castle said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "After we go through this place."

Beckett didn't comment on that, getting out of the car as Brad was waiting for them at the front of it. "You didn't call backup," she commented.

"And you think I'll need it?" the chief said before he nodded behind them.

Seeing it was Wade in his squad car, Beckett replied, "Knee jerk reaction."

"Understandable," Brad said with a slight incline of his head. "Wade, I need you to keep an eye on things out here for me."

"Yes sir," the officer said with a nod before he watched the three going up the steps to the second floor.

"Why is it the suspects and victims never live on the bottom floors," Castle commented.

"What, you're that out of shape?" Brad commented though he was keeping his gaze on the hall down to 2G.

"She can tell you I'm not," Castle said, glancing at his wife.

"Sure, you've seen him playing polo before," Beckett replied. "What about CSU?"

"I called them, they'll be here soon," Brad said.

"Like right now," Castle said, having looked out to the parking lot and seeing the vehicle CSU used pulling in then.

"Wade," Brad called down to him. "Hold them down there until we clear this." After his officer nodded, he went to the door and said to the man waiting at the apartment, "You're Mr. Warner?"

"Yes Chief, I have the key here for you," the landlord replied, handing it over.

"Beckett?" Brad asked. At her nod and seeing that her hand was down by her weapon he unlocked the door and opened it slowly with his gun drawn. "Hamptons PD is anyone inside?" he called. Hearing nothing he went in, knowing already that Beckett was covering him and he scanned the living room before spotting the single bedroom of the place. He went to the doorway and with Beckett searched the bathroom before he said to her, "All clear."

"I thought-" Beckett started to say.

"Guys, he's here!" Castle suddenly yelled before there was the sound of a shot in the distance with a second quickly following it. While the two were inside he'd waited while the landlord had left him, going back to the stairs. When he had looked back in front of them, he saw a man coming out of what he guessed was an indoor hall to the other side of the building and something about him had made him keep his eye on him until he'd suddenly seen the gun in his hand and had somehow known that it was their suspect. When the man had shot at him, he'd thrown himself against the wall under the window of the third vic's apartment, hearing it ricocheting off of the other end. He looked up after the second shot; at Wade he assumed; and then jumped up since Brad and Beckett hadn't come out yet.

Running down the stairs that they'd come up on, Castle was stopped by Wade at the bottom before he almost snarled at the officer, "He's getting away!"

"No he's not," Wade replied, holding him in place. "You know what the chief said we had to do, stay here. And your wife will kill me if you got yourself hurt. Plus they're already on it."

Since he'd been able to see Brad and Beckett going down the stairs at the other end of the upper floor, Castle relaxed, and then said, "We need to go at least to look where he was."

"What, he dropped something?" Wade asked.

"Upstairs, he dropped something before he shot at me," Castle replied.

Nodding, Wade led the way up after telling the CSU team to remain where they were still. When he reached the hallway that he'd been able to see the suspect at from the ground, he saw something shining there and said, "What the hell? The ring?" looking at Castle in surprise.

"Wade!" Brad called below.

"Chief, we found the ring," the officer said as he looked over the railing. "Do you have him?"

"No, bastard had a car running and took off just as I grabbed him through the window," Brad replied as he and Beckett were coming up the stairs. At the top he stopped and waved to CSU to get them to come up before meeting the others around the jewelry. "Did he get rid of it intentionally?" he asked Castle.

"No, I think it fell out of his coat pocket, he must have dislodged it when he got his gun from there too," Castle replied. "I could see the shape of it in the pocket for a second," he said quickly when the others looked at him.

"So you saw his face?" Brad asked. When he nodded, he looked to Beckett and said, "Take him back, I'll have Bernier call the sketch artist. I'll stay here with CSU to see what they find."

After going down to their car, Beckett placed her hand on her husband's arm and asked, "Okay?"

"Never better, it gets the heart rate going," Castle said. He smiled when she briefly did so and squeezed her hand taking his quickly before he got into the car and she drove them back to the station.

* * *

"I just realized something," Beckett said, coming into the meeting room where Castle was sitting at the table in the middle. "You've never had to work with a sketch artist before have you?"

"No, I was never an eyewitness," Castle said as he took the cup of coffee she handed to him before he paused. "Well, actually I have been, but by then we knew who the guy was."

"Yes and you were supposed to be looking at the car then, not the suspect," Beckett teased him. "And definitely not on the phone at the same time."

"Damn it, you still remember," Castle said, making a slight face before he drank the coffee slowly. "So where-"

"He's on his way, he's coming from the city remember?" Beckett asked.

"What about Brad?" Castle asked. "Oh, never mind, he's right behind you."

"Anything?" Beckett said as she turned around to the chief, though judging by the look on his face she knew her answer already.

"Not a thing, whatever the hell he took he has," Brad said.

"Did you two see the car he was in?" Castle asked, looking between them. "License plate?"

"We only got a partial we were right next to it and I nearly got run over while he sped off," Brad replied. "I was able to make out a K and a 4."

"And nothing?" Beckett asked since she'd told Hutchinson when they'd returned to the station that Brad had wanted her to search it.

"The list is short, two cars, one of them is a white Mazda, the other a black BMW," the chief replied. When Beckett and also Castle perked up visibly hearing that he then said, "That was stolen yesterday."

"When yesterday?" Castle asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah, when?" Beckett asked, glancing at her husband and then quickly turning her attention to Brad.

"Between one thirty and two thirty; it was at a business center," the chief replied. "Wh- you think the killer knew we'd gotten to Hines and took the car as transportation for his next murder."

"Exactly what we're thinking, did you put out a BOLO on it?" Beckett said.

"Of course. And back to the apartment, there wasn't a thing we found that had anything to do with the boyfriend slash killer," Brad replied. "So what it comes down to is this ring. Thanks for managing to see it."

"I'm sure you would have found it after I told you where he shot at me from," Castle said, since his friend had directed that to him. "But glad to help. What about it?"

"What?" Beckett asked when Brad turned to her. "Oh please, that's such a sexist… look," she said, rolling her eyes when she realized what he was indicating.

"She's right, she doesn't buy jewelry for herself, I've bought it," Castle replied, picking up the photograph of the ring that Brad had set on the table. He studied it carefully until he had to shake his head. "I'm sorry; it could be from anywhere here in town."

"Wait," Beckett replied. "What about this?" she said, pointing to the side of the ring. "The mermaid?"

"What about it?" Brad asked.

"I think I know where they have jewelry with faces similar to this," Beckett said, looking at her husband as she spoke.

"Next to the florist," Castle said with her before they looked at Brad together.

"Ah, freaky, you two are definitely back," the chief said. "Alright, ah, Joe, great to see you," he told the sketch artist who entered the room next to him. He shook the man's hand and said, "Mr. Castle is our witness today, I'd like you to allow Ms. Beckett to stay with him, she'd be able to help him keep focused."

Beckett had to duck her head as her husband scowled at Brad for that, trying not to laugh out loud, and when she looked up said, "Are you going?"

"No, searching before I rush out there to make sure you're right," Brad replied. "Come out when you're done and I'll let you know what I have."

"Alright Mr. Castle, I'm wondering if you can tell me about the circumstance in which you found yourself an eyewitness, take me through what happened," Joe said.

Since he was already aware of the man's method, Castle started speaking about seeing the suspect at the end of the hall and from there began to describe facial features. With Beckett there and listening in he realized that Brad had mainly wanted her to be support in case he was unable to remember anything. Though seeing her in front of him made him work a little harder to remember; as if he were trying to make up for the instance with the car nearly nine years before.

"Okay, is this the man you saw?" Joe asked after he'd finished the last of the man's chin.

"Yeah, that's him," Castle said, nodding his head immediately. "Beckett, did you see him at all?"

"You know, the slightly pointed chin I did," she replied, studying it as well. "That's him." She and Castle got up with the man and left the room, following him to the chief's office. "Good job," she said with a smile to him.

"Had to, it's a big lead besides the ring," Castle said. "That I found as well, managed to lend a hand a bit today."

Beckett shook her head, though she was smiling, as he looked at her expectantly. But she couldn't really reply to that as by then they were inside Brad's office where Joe was handing over the sketch.

"Great, fantastic work both of you," Brad replied when he'd looked over the face. He jumped up and then hurried out saying, "I'll get this set and escort you out Joe. Castle, Beckett, look at my computer."

"I'm getting the feeling he managed to prove it was the jewelry store," Castle said to his wife as he followed her around the desk. He could see the screen had the website for the store and there were a number of pieces of jewelry on the page with faces that looked like the one on the ring.

"You two ready?" Brad asked, putting on his hat after grabbing it from the coat rack by the door.

"You couldn't have just told us?" Beckett asked as she and Castle jumped up and hurried out the door after him, grabbing their own coats.

"Needed to get that out to everyone in the vics' lives," Brad explained. "And then get an APB. Okay, so we're heading in my cruiser, as until we get an ID on the suspect, I don't see us bringing him in. Unless he wanted to be kind enough to turn himself in."

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen," Castle said as he slid into the backseat of the cruiser. He looked at the black cars they passed as Brad drove them downtown, not surprised to eventually realize that Beckett was doing the same. "You too?" he asked her when they were stepping out at the parking lot at the rear of the jewelry shop.

"Even though I highly doubt the guy's going to bother sticking around," Beckett said. "He could have ditched the car or is on the way to the city by now."

"I put out that BOLO to the NYPD as well," Brad replied, having heard them. "If he's gone that far out we'll find him." He opened the door to the shop and once inside saw the owner he recognized from the website standing behind the counter. "Mr. McGuire?"

"Yes, Chief Davis I noticed you pulling up in the parking lot," the man said, looking a little unsure as he shook Brad's hand. "I thought you might be buying something for your wife but I see you're here on business."

"An investigation," Brad replied, looking down at the rings in front of him for a moment. "We're wondering if you've ever seen this ring before?" sliding the file the picture was in to him.

"Oh, of course, that's a custom made piece," McGuire replied, nodding his head a little rapidly. "And you'd like to know who purchased it?"

"That would be very beneficial," Brad said.

"Yes, please come with me, the records are in the computer in back, since this was the customer's first purchase with us," McGuire said.

"Just a second," Beckett said quickly. "Do you recognize this man?"

Studying the sketch, McGuire shook his head saying, "If that's who you think bought the ring, you might want to talk to Kelli here, since she's the seller on record."

"That would be nice," Brad said with a nod. "If I can speak with her in the back?" When McGuire nodded and the woman hurried to the back of the store he said, "Allow me a second and I'll follow." When the owner had gone he turned to Beckett saying, "Think you two can stay here?"

"Any reason?" Beckett asked, since Castle had long since started to look at the different displays.

"I'd like to keep her calm but also she needs to know it's important," Brad said.

"Yeah, that's fine," Beckett replied before he was heading to the doorway. She then walked over to her husband and said, "What are you looking for?"

"Looking for?" Castle asked in mock surprise.

"I saw the look on your face, you're sizing up everything you're seeing and the little shake of the head means it's discarded in your mind," Beckett replied. "You're not trying to find something for me are you?"

"Actually no," Castle said. "I did at first, but something in me told me you weren't going to really go for something else. Instead, I'm thinking of something else for Eliza."

Shaking her head, Beckett smiled as she said, "What we got her is enough. Maybe when she turns ten we'll give her something like we will to Julia."

"Any reason we had to wait until she was ten? Nine's a pretty good age too," Castle replied.

"And spoil her?" Beckett asked. When her husband sighed she smiled before she looked down at the rings they were in front of. "I have to admit, there's something that's bothering me."

"About what?" Castle asked, still thinking she was talking about their daughters.

"The ring, he bought that for her and-" Beckett started to say.

"They hadn't even gone on their first date," Castle said, standing up straight as he'd been leaning against the display. "What if he found her here and bought the ring-"

"To get her to go out with him," Beckett finished. "Then it would be on the security camera, we have to tell Brad," she said, taking his hand and pulling him over to the back. When they'd pushed past the curtains that covered the doorway she looked over to her right, seeing a room with a desk and a TV on it, the chief sitting in front of that as the owner and the employee were standing next to him.

"Hey, did you two have the same thought?" Brad asked, standing up then as the owner sat where he'd been.

"The ring getting the vic to go out with the killer? Yeah, she brought that up," Castle said, nodding to his wife. "What about the buyer?"

"According to what they have on file it was bought by check by a Sylvester Driscoll," Brad told them. "And since I thought the two might have met here, I'm having Mr. McGuire get the footage for us to check out."

"Okay, this is the time on the receipt, a little before," the man said.

"Ms…" Beckett started to say to the employee.

"Erikson," the woman replied.

"Ms. Erikson, do you remember much about that day?" Beckett asked. "And I know you just told Chief Davis about this, but we'd really love to hear what you saw too."

"It's not a problem, it was a man and a woman; the man the same in your drawing and the woman the same as the woman he showed me," Erikson replied with a nod. "And they weren't together but you could tell they were flirting and eventually he bought the ring for her and they left together, going over towards the restaurant on the other side of the street."

"How long ago?" Castle asked.

"Nearly a week ago," Brad said. "So he had this planned obviously. Here they are," he said hurriedly as on the screen their third vic and suspect appeared.

Watching as the two spoke, Beckett frowned when he saw the suspect take the woman's hand and then motion down to the display before they walked off screen together. "Well, he is smooth, I'll give him that," she said. "And the media's named him pretty aptly."

"Is it possible to take a copy of this?" Brad asked the owner. When the man nodded he said, "We'll wait in the store," before he walked with Castle and Beckett out. "So as soon as we get back, we'll look into this Sylvester," he said.

"I wonder what's the story with all the s names," Castle commented.

"His real name obviously," Brad said, turning to him.

"It's too simple," Beckett said before her husband could. "It wouldn't make a great story if that was the only reason."

"What other reason could there be besides that?" Brad asked.

"Something about his name that's a big twist," Castle said. "You know anyone's name that starts with an s that might have turned against you since becoming a chief?"

"I've always been a cop and of course before I moved here a detective," Brad said, shaking his head.

"Do you know anyone with the last name of Driscoll then?" Castle suggested.

"No, but… thank you so much," Brad said when he saw the owner coming out with a USB stick. "We appreciate your cooperation Mr. McGuire, Ms. Erikson."

"What were you going to say," Beckett said once they were outside and nearly to the squad car.

"When? Oh, earlier?" Brad asked before he remembered. When both Castle and Beckett nodded he then said, "I just remember a guy I used to know up in Albany; when I was still on patrol. He was my partner very briefly, his name was Stuart Myers."

"But he's not our suspect since he doesn't look like him," Beckett said.

Hesitating slightly, Brad said, "No, but that chin…"

"He had the same kind of chin?" Castle asked in surprise.

"If I remember him correctly, yeah," Brad said as they got into the car. "I'll have to check him up again, after we look at Driscoll of course," he commented to the two as he pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

"This is Driscoll," Castle stated in shock as the chief slid a picture across the table in the break room where he and Beckett were having lunch in between them. "This is not him."

"No that's him," Brad said. "And obviously his checks were stolen. Mr. Sylvester Driscoll is fifty eight, has a wife and three grown children and is an accountant in the city."

Beckett shared a look with Castle and said, "Do we need to contact the boys?"

"Would you be able to?" Brad asked, getting his lunch from the fridge.

"Of course, the problem becomes if they're able to help us," Beckett replied, starting to stand up. "Rick?" she asked as he was looking down at his sandwich. "Get up and come with me, it's not going anywhere."

"Oh, alright," Castle said with a mock-suffering sigh before he stood and then followed her over to the chief's office as he joined them.

Picking up the phone on the desk, Beckett dialed Esposito's number and set the phone to speaker before the detective was picking up.

"Hey Beckett, you need us on your case, your Lothario killer?" he asked.

"So you heard about that," Castle said.

"Of course, but it's buried in the back of the _Ledger_ this time," Ryan said.

"Are you guys in the stairway?" Beckett said as she could hear an echo on his voice.

"Yeah, we're on our way to the morgue to wrap up our case we just had," Esposito replied. "Better we talk to you here on our way."

"Okay, we need you two to look into someone who may have stolen some checks from someone in the city," Beckett replied.

"I'll get in touch with Diego," Ryan said. "I can stop up in Robbery before we go, you guys don't have that information?"

"It's new, so it might not be in the database yet," Brad said in reply.

"It's a Sylvester Driscoll," Beckett then said.

"Does the name sound familiar?" Castle asked.

"Should it?" Esposito asked.

"No, but if you can tell the detective to get in touch with Chief Davis we'd appreciate it," Beckett said.

"I'll head up now, great hearing from you again Beckett, Castle," Ryan said.

After they'd said goodbye to the two Castle, Beckett and Brad headed back to the break room where they sat together before she spoke to the chief.

"So did you consider what I said?" Beckett asked.

"I contacted the FBI before I came in and they're willing to help considering we're dealing with a serial killer now," Brad replied. "I sent them what we have and they'll try to see if they can find the fake Driscoll."

"They're not going to want to get involved are they?" Castle asked slowly.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing," Brad replied. "And they asked if I needed their help, but I let them know we could handle it here in the country," he said, rolling his eyes.

"And we can," Beckett assured him, not surprised how he felt at the possibility of the FBI taking over the case. "But I hate to ask, what-"

"If we don't find this guy?" Brad asked. "Well, there is the institution."  
"Completely forgot about that, anything?" Castle asked.

"From the files they sent us there wasn't much that really helped us," Brad replied before he had some of his stew he'd brought for lunch. He saw the two were watching him and he hurriedly ate before he told them, "I have to eat guys, hold on. Anyways, I did contact them as well and e-mailed them both the pictures and the footage we have."

"You think the faux Driscoll was at the same place as Hines?" Castle asked, sharing a look with his wife.

"I would guess, because the information on Hines was pretty scant," Brad replied simply. "And with us not having anything else to go on at this point…"

Waiting as the chief ate more of his meal, Beckett then said, "And the family and friends of our vics?"

"Yeah, heard back from them all and they've never seen him," Brad replied. "Except of a friend of our last vic, I asked her to come in to speak with us but she's in Oyster Bay so I'll need to see the circumstances."

"She couldn't talk to you?" Castle asked.

"No, she was about to go in to assist with a surgery, she's an anesthesiologist," Brad answered before eating again. "But she said his name was Sylvester, according to the vic."

"You know what bothers me?" Castle said after they were all silent. "We seem to be ignoring the fact that Hines was the boyfriend to the first two vics, this is someone completely different."

"No, not ignoring, but I discussed it with Beckett when we were coming back after Driscoll got away," Brad replied. "Things developed before we could think that out all the way through."

"So then you agree with me," Castle stated.

"About what?" Beckett asked.

"That it's a conspiracy," Castle replied. When his wife and the chief exchanged a look he said quickly, "Come on, two different men, but the same method of murder?"

"Then you think the fake Driscoll is the one in charge of everything," Brad said.

Castle started to speak before he hesitated and then said, "Maybe. It could be him, or it might be someone else."

When Brad seemed to scoff at that Beckett quickly said, "I think he's right." She wasn't surprised when he looked at her in surprise and said, "The security footage."

"Yeah, I was just hoping he'd made a mistake," the chief said with a slight sigh. "So we took a look at Hines' financials and there were some cash deposits. I would assume of course that that's the leader of this conspiracy," he said before eating some of his stew again.

"That would be, with cash," Beckett replied. "I wonder if the ATM footage from the banks he used reached us?"

"Yeah," Brad said. "And he was alone, he doesn't really seem too on edge always looking over his shoulder; anything like that. We tried to retrace his steps of course but it's going to take some time for us to really get that set."

"How far are you going back?" Castle inquired.

"Just the first cash deposit," Brad said. "If it turns out we know when to go further back we'll do so."

"Who's working on that?" Beckett said.

"Hutchinson again," Brad replied. "She's still recovering from her ankle you know."

"We do," Castle said. "Okay, so I guess the idea is we need to wait now right?"

"I think he wants to focus on his lunch," Beckett said to the chief.

"I can't blame him," Brad replied.

Shaking her head, Beckett muttered jokingly, "Men," as she smiled a little. She then went back to her food before looking at her watch.

"Where do you need to go?" Brad asked.

"No, I'm just wondering why you urged us to eat so early," Beckett asked, as it wasn't quite twelve yet by then.

"I'm trying to help you," the chief said. "Since I know you two want to go see your daughters. And I get the feeling we'll have a lot to go through too."

"You know we can stay," Castle replied, looking at his wife and nodding slightly.

"That I do," Brad said simply before going over to the sink to rinse out his bowl. "But we'll see how things go," he said, setting aside his things. "I'll be in my office."

"You think we could just leave and head out to the school when she's in her dance class?" Castle asked his wife once they were alone.

"It depends," Beckett said, smiling at him. When he looked a little confused she told him, "I know you want to go, so you could."

"I think it might scare them if they just see me though," Castle said, getting up to throw away his plate. "Especially after…"

"True," Beckett said, remembering then the day before. She murmured a thank you to him as he took her bowl for her and she stood. "We'll try, they know if we don't make it it's because the case kept us from going."

"Then we'll really have to make it up to them," Castle said, taking her hand.

"Castle," Beckett said warningly as she could tell what he wanted to do by how close he'd ended up standing next to her.

"We've done this before; quickly," Castle told her in a rush before he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

When he pulled away, Beckett said, "You tempt me though," her eyes narrowed a little playfully at him.

"It's fun to do," Castle replied. "Lets you know how I feel sometimes when we have to stop."

"Come on, the sooner we get things set the better chance we have seeing the dance class," Beckett said, squeezing his hand then. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and led the way out through the bull pen and to Brad's office.

Startled to see his friend hanging up the phone; looking extremely grave, Castle asked, "What is it?"

"There's been an attempted murder on a woman," Brad replied as he turned to them. "And she says her attacker's name was Sylvester Driscoll."


	6. Losing Sight Of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Jenny Wren by Paul McCartney, from his album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

"Ms. Palmer?" Brad asked as the strip of a face appeared in the crack of the open door. "I'm Chief Davis."

"Yes, I remember," the woman said, opening the door. "Who are they?" she asked before she blurted out suddenly, "The writers?"

"Yes, Mr. Castle and Ms. Beckett," Brad answered as they stepped into the apartment. "Do you mind if they hear what happened?" he asked as he noticed the woman was looking at Beckett.

"Would I be able to speak with you?" Palmer said.

"That would be fine; would you want to go into the other room?" Beckett asked, having seen the bedroom. She then followed the woman over to it, glancing back at Castle and Brad, seeing them watching her. She gave a slight nod before she closed the door a little behind them. "What can you tell me about this Sylvester Driscoll?" she asked as she sat in an armchair that was across from the bed.

"Well, he was at the bar down by the beach here, about four days ago," Palmer said.

"Which one?" Beckett asked. For a moment the woman seemed to have trouble recalling until she finally spoke.

"It's called The Knot," Palmer said hurriedly. "And I met him there and he bought me some drinks and we spoke. Then he brought me back home and he tried to rape me."

Beckett had a problem with that but she pushed it aside for the moment and then asked, "And you didn't report it?"

"I was afraid of doing that, I didn't want to," Palmer said defensively. "He didn't in the end… so I just kicked him out."

When the woman was quiet Beckett then frowned and said, "And recently?"

"Recently?" Palmer asked in confusion.

"You told the operator that you were nearly murdered," Beckett said, starting to reach for her weapon but making it look like she was just putting her hand on her hip.

"Yes, when he tried to rape me," Palmer replied.

"So how did you know we were looking for a Sylvester Driscoll?" Beckett asked.

"I didn't, I just gave you his name in case he's that Lothario killer," Palmer replied.

"Did he use a weapon on you?" Beckett asked, her tone becoming a little firmer then.

"Just his hands," Palmer replied. "But he had something with a wooden handle… I read the women were stabbed, so a knife maybe?"

"And had you ever noticed him before that time?" Beckett asked. When the woman shook her head she frowned a little and said, "Alright, is there any reason why you didn't want to tell the chief that?"

"I didn't want to get in trouble for not reporting this… but I swear to you I didn't know he was going to do this," Palmer replied, her voice becoming high pitched suddenly.

"It's alright, I think there was some miscommunication when you spoke to the operator, it sounded like you had just been attacked," Beckett replied.

"No, no," Palmer said quickly. "I said, it had happened… I guess I should have been more specific about that… sorry."

"No, it's okay," Beckett replied. She then opened up the picture they had of the fake Driscoll on her phone and showed it to the woman asking, "Is this him?"

"Yeah… who's the girl?" Palmer said, seeing Logan on the side.

"She's just a woman," Beckett replied simply.

"He picked her up too?" Palmer asked, seeming to be indignant.  
"I don't think that really matters," Beckett said slightly uncomfortably. "Do you mind coming with us now? To give your statement officially to the police?"

"You don't count?" Palmer asked.

"Not really," Beckett said simply.

"Okay," Palmer replied, giving a heavy sigh as she stood up.

Leading her out into the living room, Beckett said simply to Brad, "She'll give her statement to you down at the station Chief."

* * *

"So what do you think her story _is_?" Castle asked, leaning back to twist his head to the interview room.

"I told you already," Beckett said simply, looking over at him from the computer at their desk. "And stop looking back, you're making my neck hurt."

"Sorry," Castle said as he sat up straight then, turning to her. "And I didn't mean her story about the attack exactly, what about her not reporting it?"

"You know that some women won't," Beckett said, glancing back over at him again.

"That's true," Castle said, frowning. "But what also bothers me is how are we so sure this guy that attacked her was our killer?"

"Or that if the attack happened at all?" Beckett asked simply.

"I know, I'm getting paranoid," Castle replied. "But there's something about her that's not… right."

"And here I thought you kept looking at her because you thought she was attractive," Beckett said. When her husband's head snapped back to her she smiled and said, "Thank you."

"You were kidding right?" Castle said. When she merely gave him a momentary smirk before turning away he sighed and then said, "Okay, there's something off about her, the way she looks at you when you talk to her."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that there's something wrong with her," Beckett replied.

"You have her information there?" Castle asked, leaning over slightly to look at the computer screen.

"I do and she doesn't really have anything to her record," Beckett said before she paused when her eye snagged on something.

"He's still interviewing her," Castle said, having seen the same as his wife. He was surprised when she stood up then and he jumped up to follow her over to the interview room.

Knocking on the door, Beckett said as soon as Brad stepped out, "She was at the same institution as Hines."

"What?" the chief asked; looking stunned. He hurried after the two to their desk and read the information about Palmer before he saw the name of the institution outside of Buffalo. "Okay, I think I'll have to ask her about that," he replied.

"Do you want me to go in with you this time?" Beckett asked.

"That would be nice," Brad said. "Castle, I need you to look into the institution."

"Not a problem," he said before he watched the two leave. He glanced over at Hutchinson and said, "Surprised he didn't ask you?" as she was looking at him.

"Not really, I'm still trying to look through the last vic's phone records," the officer said. "Though I'm almost finished."

"Great, so I'll just get started…" Castle began as he sat back down behind the computer.

"Ms. Palmer, I've brought back Ms. Beckett as she would like to ask you a few questions as well," Brad was telling the woman as he and Beckett sat down in chairs across from her.

"Oh, well sure but I'm pretty much finished telling you what happened to me," Palmer replied. "Oh, you found out about me I guess, the institution," she said suddenly said with a sigh. "I had a nervous breakdown, about a year ago, but I was released two months ago perfectly healthy; you can ask my doctors."

"We will but there are a couple other things we'd like to know, if that's alright with you," Beckett said easily.

"Sure," Palmer said, looking at the picture that the chief handed to her.

"Do you know who this man is?" Brad asked.

Studying it closely, Palmer shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I don't, was he at the same hospital I was?" At Beckett's slight nod she said, "We were kept separated from the men and I was kept in my room because I didn't want to try and go outside, I was a little frightened of it…"

"Agoraphobia?" Brad asked.

"No, just part of my breakdown dealt with… with my job," Palmer said, smiling brightly.

It was with that that Beckett could understand what her husband was talking about; something in the woman's smile was not right; and to cover that realization she quickly said, "How long have you lived here in the Hamptons?"

"Since I was released my doctor helped me get a job and I got an apartment…" Palmer said before she frowned. "I'm not going to lose my job for this am I?"

"No, you'll be fine," Brad said quickly. "What about these women?"

"And have you had any kind of contact with the city council?" Beckett asked as a desperate last shot as the woman was looking at the pictures of their previous three victims.

"No, these… no I don't know who they are," Palmer replied, shaking her head. "And I've never really had a reason to talk to the city council."

"Alright, I have your statement," Brad said, standing up before Beckett followed him. "And you have my card, if you ever see your attacker again, just call and let me know."

"Of course," Palmer said before she left with Officer Wade to be escorted back to her apartment.

"Well?" Castle asked, watching the two walk over to him. He was surprised when they didn't say anything, instead went straight into Brad's office and he hurried to follow, nodding to Hutchinson when she looked at him. "Hey, she found out our third vic didn't have anything to do with the town council," he said. "Which isn't surprising since-"

"She was killed by another man," Beckett said at the same time as him. "It would seem their MO in choosing their victims are different but they're killing the same way. What did you find out about the institution?"

"Nothing much, it's outside Buffalo and is pretty well rated for patient treatment," Castle replied. "I was about to search for anything in the news lately about it but I got a text."

"From the boys?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she said to Brad, "Them or her doctor first?"

"You think she's the killer?" Castle asked. When his friend just looked up at him he said, "Come on, it's not outside the realm of possibility."

"No, it's just highly unlikely," Brad said. "But I need to call her doctor first," he finally said in answer to Beckett's question. He went on his computer and soon found the man's name saying, "Dr. Lucas Houston… he looks to be well respected… alright, I'll let you two listen in, but Castle…"

"Yeah, mouth shut," he said, in a mock grumbling tone of voice. He watched his wife lean against the desk as Brad started to dial and said, "Think she could talk at least?"

"My mistake, you can talk, but you are listening in Castle," the chief said before the hospital answered.

Waiting as they were being transferred directly to the doctor's office, Beckett looked back at her husband and asked, "Did they mention Robbery found something?"

"They sent me the number for Detective Diego," Castle replied.

Brad heard a click then and he was about to speak when there was a pause and then someone began speaking. "Dr. Houston?" he asked, looking up at Beckett in confusion.

"Yes, I was told you're inquiring about a past patient of mine? I'm afraid I can't-" the doctor started to say.

"My name is Brad Davis, I'm Chief of Police in the Hamptons and I'm confirming you had someone who was a patient; it's already in her general information," he said. "So I'm just verifying this."

"Well, yes that information is correct," the doctor said, sounding a little surprised. "But further than that I can't say."

"My consultant, Ms. Beckett is listening in on the conversation," Brad said then as she'd signaled to him. "She'd like to ask you a question."

At the tone of the doctor's, "By all means," Castle had to wonder if he was a fan as it was said in all eagerness and he slightly rolled his eyes when Brad looked at him.

"I'm wondering if you treated a man named Marshall Hines as well," Beckett asked. "He's a suspect, so we need as much information on him as possible."

"I… yes, I did," the doctor replied after a pause. "I'm sorry, I'm just checking on my notes here. He was suffering from bipolar disorder with a slightly manic depressive complex, but we managed to start him on a medicinal treatment that worked and he's been out for some time now. It is a shame that he seems to have relapsed."

"Do you know of anywhere he could have gone? A place that he mentioned to you he enjoyed in sessions?" Brad asked as he nodded to the two watching him searching that information as well.

"I think he said he liked the water, it soothed him and calmed his demons as he preferred to call them," Houston replied. "I just hope that helps in some way."

"It does, doctor I may call on you again but for now thank you for your cooperation," Brad replied. As soon as the doctor had hung up he said rapidly, "Look at this."

Going around the desk, Beckett saw a headline for an internet article that read _Unknown Amount Escape from Buffalo Mental Care Hospital_. "When was this?" she asked as she glanced at Castle who was next to her.

"About three months ago," Brad said with a frown. He started to groan but when he went to the next article on the search engine he'd used he paused and said, "Okay, never mind," as it read, _Patients Found and Returned to Hospital_.

"I was going to say," Castle said. "Does it give out their names?"

"No and that doesn't surprise me," Brad replied. "If you two will excuse me for a second, I need to place a phone call."

"Back to the hospital?" Beckett asked. When the chief gave a brief nod she led her husband out to the break room and as he started some coffee said, "Should we talk to Diego?"

"You're asking me?" Castle couldn't help ask in amusement. "You know already he'd want to speak to the Chief." He looked up at her and said, "What?" wondering if something was bothering her enough to have asked about talking to the Robbery detective.

"No, just that article, I get the feeling Hines was part of it," Beckett said.

"Me too but you read it right?" Castle asked.

"A little before he went back on the page," Beckett replied with a slight nod.

"Then you saw none of them posed any threat," Castle said. "So it might not have been Hines. Unless of course he went back to his regular behavior almost as soon as he got out, which would be a kind of… plausible explanation."

"Not a good twist to the story?" Beckett asked. When he gave a slight nod she then said, "What about if the person orchestrating all of this turned him?"

"Oh, now that's a good one," Castle said.

"I'll agree, except we have no way of knowing who that person is," Brad said, suddenly appearing in the doorway of the room.

"They won't tell you?" Castle asked.

"They confirmed one of them was Hines but the others they couldn't disclose," Brad said.

"You need a warrant?" Beckett asked. When he just looked at her quickly she sighed saying, "And I guess getting a full list of their patients went with that too."

"Of course," Castle said. "Have they ever been investigated?"

"After the escape… well, the woman I spoke to assured me it wasn't like a prison escape, the patients just went into the wilderness and they found them, luckily it was during the day and they found them after only a few hours so," Brad said before trailing off with a shrug.

"I have to wonder if they met someone there," Castle mused.

"The orchestrator?" Beckett replied.

"The master sounds better," Castle said slowly. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes and then said, "No seriously, they meet him and he gets them ready to go once they're out."

"What about Palmer," Brad said.

"Well I'm wondering now if-" Castle started to say.

"She was the faux Driscoll's choice?" Beckett interrupted.

"Yeah, he saw her from the hospital and followed her here," Castle said before hesitating.

"That's a hell of a coincidence for her to come here," Brad said. "Unless it's the orchestrator."

"Say master, it's funnier, demeans him," Castle said.

"So I guess you watched that _Manos_ episode of _Mystery Science Theater_ I sent you," Brad said to Beckett.

"Yeah, he loved it, so…" Beckett replied. "But to get back to the case you two," she said. "What do you want to do about this hospital?"

"Leave it for now," Brad replied. "It's going to be next to impossible trying to find the instigator with nothing to go on. I can try and get Judge Carpenter to look at my request for a warrant but you know how she is."

"Then what about the robbery?" Castle asked.

"I was going to remind you two about Diego," Brad replied with a slight nod towards his friend. "You two want to talk to him with me?"

"We'll follow," Beckett said, taking the mug that Castle handed her. They walked after the chief to his office and waited for him to dial the number he'd been texted.

"Detective Diego," a man said on the other end.

"Yes, this is Chief Davis-" Brad started to say.

"Ah, Ryan's associates in the Hamptons," Diego interrupted. "I was going to get a hold of you but hadn't had a chance. So you're asking about the theft of some checks from a Sylvester Driscoll, I should tell you all that there's a lot more to it than that."

"He managed to steal money?" Castle asked.

"That would be correct and my victim's credit card," Diego replied. "I just got the financial records and was perusing the latest purchase that he made today."

"Today?" Beckett said in confusion. "Wouldn't you have tried to shut down the account?"

"Not exactly, I'm in contact with his bank and we're using the card to track him," Diego replied. "The real Mr. Driscoll gave us some money to use for that."

"And can you tell where he is?" Brad asked.

"Oh of course and it looks like he's circling your area, which is no surprise," Diego said. "And then today, about eight fifty two this morning he bought some rope at a sailing supply store in Southampton."

"What store?" Brad asked as he, Beckett and Castle immediately looked at each other.

"The Southampton Marina Shop," Diego read. "And the weird thing is Detective, that's all we've gotten in the way of a purchase from the card since the theft."

"Alright, let me give you my cell phone number, so I can have you contact me directly should he buy anything else with that card," Brad replied.

Castle and Beckett were already grabbing their coats as the chief was giving the number and they watched as he quickly said goodbye to the detective.

"So I think you're right about the whole trying to lure us thing," Brad said as he stood up to put on his uniform jacket. "Since there's no way he'd be that sloppy without a reason."

"But we lost a lot of time," Beckett pointed out as they stepped into the bull pen.

"Wade, I need you and Bernier to come in one car, follow us into Southampton," Brad replied. "Look, I get the fact that he might not be there but if he's on a boat…"

"That's why we're following you," Castle said simply before they were stepping out into the lobby.

* * *

"Yeah, that'd be him," the man said behind the counter, looking at the picture of the suspect that the chief was holding up to him. "He came in and bought rope, which was about an eighty foot roll."

"Did you see which way he went?" Beckett asked, having shared a look with her husband.

"To the right, down to the boats," the man replied. "I didn't notice too much suspicious with him though."

"It's alright, it's enough you were able to ID him," Brad said reassuringly to the man. "If you happen to see him again, call this number," he said, handing the man a card. When he'd led Castle and Beckett outside he said, "You two thinking the same thing?"

"Suicide? It's likely," Castle replied first.

"And it would get us to find him," Beckett said. "But how are we honestly going to find the boat he might be on; if he's even here?"

"The marina-" Brad started to say.

"No I know he'll be the one to ask but how will he know?" Beckett asked simply.

"She's got a point; unless-" Castle started to say.

"He's seen him around the marina," he and Beckett said at the same time.

"This is the point where we start asking," Brad replied, turning to go. When he didn't hear footsteps after him he asked, "Something wrong?" as he noticed the two hadn't moved.

"You might want to call Diego, ask him if Driscoll happens to have a boat here," Beckett said.

"Or anywhere this end of the island," Castle said.

"Good point," Brad said. "And why I'm glad now I asked you to help out." He got his phone out and dialed the number he had for Diego, speaking with him quickly. "Alright, yeah, if he can call the marina director… fantastic, bye."

"He does?" Castle asked in surprise.

"We thought it'd be unlikely, the boat would be somewhere else," Beckett explained. "So he has a boat."

"That he does, slip fourteen, so he's going to tell Mr. Wolfe that we have his permission to board his boat," Brad said. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and spoke to Wade and Bernier who were waiting in the parking lot to meet them once he called them again. "Are you set to go with us?" he asked Beckett as they reached the building at the entrance down to the boats.

With a slight nod, Beckett walked inside first and turned to Brad as he was the last inside; not surprised when the man behind the desk jumped up.

"Chief, I just got the call from Mr. Driscoll, is there anything I can do to help you?" Wolfe asked.

"We just needed to let you know," Brad replied, reaching over and shaking his hand. "How's your daughter?"

"She's fine, should I stay here?" Wolfe asked.

"That would be great, if we need further information…" Brad began.

"Come inside and I'll tell you whatever you need to know," Wolfe replied instantly.

With a nod, Brad followed Castle and Beckett outside and said, "I managed to get his daughter out of a car that her boyfriend was driving drunk; she wasn't exactly a willing passenger and he nearly ran off the road. I didn't realize that was him until I saw him. Okay, Wade, Bernier, I need one of you to take point," directing the last to the officers they'd reached by then.

"And you sir?" Bernier asked.

"I'm after and then her, Wade?" Brad asked, giving his old friend from Albany a quick look as he knew he was joking.

"Yeah, I've got it sir," the officer replied.

"Castle-" Brad then directed to his friend.

"Yeah, I'm outside here at the entrance down?" Castle asked him. At the chief's nod he quickly told his wife, " _Careful love_."

" _You too_ ," Beckett replied with a slight smile before she followed Bernier and Brad. She pulled her weapon out as they were going down to slip fourteen and once they'd reached the boat she looked through the windows at the top but was unable to see any kind of movement until finally Bernier went on board.

"Hamptons PD!" the officer called as he was first inside. He went straight to the stairs below until he was able to clear the three rooms there and called it to the others.

"Clear, what…" Brad started to say in frustration before Bernier was calling to him. "You found him?" he asked as he and Beckett went down to where the officer was standing at the door to one of the rooms. "The rope… alright, he's not here," he said angrily. "We'd better go back to Wolfe."

"Hey, he's not there is he?" Castle asked, watching as the chief walked up to him and then passed by him.

"No, you might want to keep a distance from him," Beckett said.

"Ah, good idea," Castle said. "Does he want us to go with him?" he asked as Brad had just kept on going toward the offices.

"I don't think so," Beckett replied. "What do you say we take a walk?" she asked him then as she took her phone out of her pocket.

"Sure," Castle said, smiling slightly at her. He followed her over to the next dock and said, "Not many people sailing today."

"No, they're not," Beckett replied, knowing with that that he was thinking the same as her. "I wonder if faux Driscoll knows how to."

"Most likely, depending on the boat he took," Castle told her. They walked hand in hand and he watched her take random pictures to make it seem like they weren't there for investigative purposes. " _We should head back_ ," he then told her.

" _Yeah, everyone's here_ ," Beckett replied, frowning slightly. They turned and then headed around to the next section and she had to shake her head at Wade and Bernier since the two were walking up to them. When they had reached the slips she started to open her mouth to speak as she saw that one was empty but a boat was just then pulling in. She made a note of the number still and she and her husband turned to go to the last one.

"Wolfe _has to have noticed someone else leaving_ ," Castle said in slight frustration as they saw the slips there were all full as well.

" _I'm sure_ -" Beckett started to say before her phone started to ring in her hand. "It's Rebecca," she said once she'd seen the name.

"I'm sure she's just letting us know she got her," Castle said, though he had to wonder why she'd called since she usually just texted.

"Hey Rebecca, everything okay?" Beckett asked once she answered.

"Yeah, don't worry, Eliza just wants to make sure that you two are together right now," the woman said, amusement in her tone. "I'm assuming of course this is coming from your fight yesterday."

"More than likely," Castle said as the phone was on speaker. "Eliza?"

"Daddy, where is Mommy?" the toddler said.

"I'm right here sweetie," Beckett replied quickly. "And your daddy and I have been working together all day, so don't worry."

"Kay but I want to see," Eliza replied stubbornly.

" _I think that's from us both_ ," Castle whispered to his wife.

Shaking her head at her husband; since Eliza wouldn't have been able to understand him if he'd spoken in a normal volume; Beckett switched the phone to video and said, "See? He's here with me."

"Hi!" Eliza said happily, waving at them. "Are you going to sea?"

"Not really," Castle replied, glancing at his wife. When she just smiled at him he then told her, "We're just walking around while we wait for Brad to finish doing something."

"Kay, did you take pictures?" Eliza asked.

"A few," Beckett replied. "But we're just walking like your daddy said."

"Think you two would be able to make it to Julia's class?" Rebecca asked.

"Probably not for a while," Beckett answered, checking her watch.

"Maybe the last hour like we were talking about earlier," Castle said. "That's still okay? You and David didn't change your plans?"

"Nope, he still wants time alone with Ruby so I'll take Eliza at two thirty over to the school," Rebecca said.

"Sounds great, if anything comes up on our end we'll let you know," Beckett said. "Eliza?"

"Yeah?" the toddler asked quickly.

"You need to take a nap now you know," Beckett told her. When she saw her daughter's frown she said, "I know but a short one okay?"

"I am not a baby," Eliza protested, pouting.

"We know," Castle said. "But you need a nap and after that you'll get to see your sister's class."

"Sorry," Rebecca said, nearly laughing as the toddler turned to her. "Your parents said that's what you need to do."

"Kay," Eliza said, sounding slightly miserable.

"We'll see you later sweetie, we need to get going," Beckett said as she looked up and could see Brad in the distance in front of the building waving to them. "We'll text Rebecca when we're on our way."

"Bye Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said quickly.

"Bye sweetheart," Castle said before Beckett echoed him. "He found something," he said once she'd hung up and they started to hurry over to the chief. "But what that was I'm not sure," as the slips they'd seen were all occupied.

"Hey, you two were looking around?" Brad asked once they'd reached him.

"We thought maybe he took a boat," Beckett said simply. "What'd you find?"

"Slip twenty six on dock B," Brad replied. "Wolfe said he'd noticed the boat there leaving, and-"

"Wait, twenty six, are you sure?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, why?" Brad said, looking confused.

"We just saw a boat coming in there," Castle explained.

"What was the name?" Brad immediately asked.

"The… _Atlantic Coast_ ," Castle said before he recalled the name.

"No, that's not it, the ship we're looking for is the _Davy Jones' Locker_ ," Brad said, shaking his head. "Okay, let me talk to Wolfe again," he said before they all walked inside the building.

"Hey, Chief, I just got in touch with the owner and it wasn't him," the man said when he spotted the three walking inside.

"Then it was faux Driscoll," Castle said. "And he stole that boat. Which means he could be anywhere by now." And seeing the expressions on his wife's and friend's faces, he knew they too had thought the exact same thing.


	7. In Your Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song One by U2, from their album Achtung Baby.

"Yes, this is Chief Davis… No it wasn't your boat, another coming in to dock," Brad was saying on the phone. "Okay, you do, right we'll try and find it as soon as possible."

"So can you find it?" Beckett asked, leaning against the other side of the desk with Castle as they'd been watching him talking.

"That's the question," Brad said. "Wolfe, the Coast-"

"Press 6, we have them on speed dial," the man replied as he had been in a back room, talking on a radio.

Pressing the number, Brad looked at the two across from him and shook his head saying, "Pretty incredible he just slipped out."

"Considering that he is very similar in coloring to Mr. Fisher…" Castle began before he trailed off when the chief held his hand up to stop him.

"Yeah, I'm Chief Davis from the Hamptons PD, I'm contacting you to try and find a stolen boat," Brad said when someone on the other end picked up. "Yes, it's called _Davy Jones' Locker_ and I have no idea where she's headed."

As Brad informed whoever was on the other end about the type of boat it was, Castle leaned over to his wife and murmured, "Are we sure this guy is legit?"

"You heard him talking to Hutchinson and he is," Beckett replied. "The fact that my dad knows him…"

"That was a surprise," Castle said, as it had turned out the owner of the boat; a Caleb Fisher; had been a past client of his father in law's. "But it helped us out too."

"Then why the question," Beckett said, looking at him as they half listened to Brad's half of the conversation.

"Just seeing if we could still go with the conspiracy idea," Castle said quickly before the chief was hanging up. "So?"

"Well, they did a quick search and nothing," Brad said with a deep sigh. "So he was able to cloak himself."

"Then that means he knows his way around ships," Beckett said. "Maybe the orchestrator picked them because they were similar and had a knowledge of sailing-"

"And he planned to use them to get away," Castle said hurried, knowing what his wife was thinking with that.

"Interesting theory but the bad news about that is he could possibly be well on his way to some other country by now with the orchestrator," Brad said.

"That's a problem," Beckett said. "And is it going to be for sure? They're not about to help us out in any way?"

"They are," Brad replied. "They're going to make a search with a helicopter, but only one. Since of course it's so expensive."

"Any way we could listen in on that?" Castle asked interestedly.

"Afraid not, they're on a closed channel," Brad said, not surprised he'd asked. "They'll call me when they're finished. In the meantime, I would like to call all the marinas I can in the area, I'm just not sure which direction to go," he said as they'd discussed the idea the killer might have tried to fool them into thinking he'd headed out to sea and had just docked somewhere on Long Island instead.

"I would go to the east," Beckett replied. "It would make it easier for him to take off into the Atlantic if he needed to."

"We'll start with that," Brad said, picking up the phone and looking at the computer in front of him with its list of marinas.

"Anything we can do in the mean time?" Castle asked before the chief started to dial.

"Not really, everything hinges on the boat," Brad replied. He then started to dial before telling Beckett, "I might have you join in calling me, there are a ton of numbers here."

"Actually, Chief," Wolfe said from the room behind them. "You can call in on this, most marinas have radios and they're on the same frequency."

"Would you mind doing that?" Brad asked. "I'd like to keep the fact we're looking for him quiet, in case our suspect can hear one of these radios." He listened to Wolfe make the announcement before nodding and turning to Castle and Beckett. "So now we wait for someone on there, or else the Coast Guard."

"Mind if we head outside for a second?" Castle asked suddenly. When his friend; looking a little confused; nodded he took Beckett's hand and led her out. "I'm not bringing you out here to make out or something," he told his wife quickly as he could see the look she was giving him out of the corner of his eye. "Just checking on something."

"What?" Beckett asked as he almost dragged her over to the point closest to the water without going to the boats.

"So we know the boat had enough fuel to go as far as… Delaware," Castle said.

"Right but that was if he was going in that direction, which he should since he wouldn't really be able to go across the Atlantic, not without carrying said fuel," Beckett said, watching him as he looked towards the left. She followed his gaze and was able to see what he saw. "You're thinking he tacked a little on purpose to throw us off-" she started to say.

"In case he wasn't able to cloak himself like Brad called it," Castle finished for her. "Right, so that would force him to dock somewhere here on the island."

"And we have absolutely no way to prove that," Beckett told him. "Though that's another reason why we called those other marinas."

"That worries me though, what if he hides the name somehow?" Castle asked.

"By what, painting over it or covering it? They'll notice," Beckett replied simply before she heard someone calling their names. "They found it?" she asked.

"Not the Coast Guard, a marina in Springs," Brad answered when the two were close enough to him to hear.

"Springs? So he hooked up around the end of the island… nice, so that would have hidden him," Castle commented.

"Since we would have concentrated on the marinas to the south of the island," Beckett said. "Was the person on the radio able to see him at all?"

"There's been no movement on the boat," Brad replied. "So I'm going to have to go alone with Bernier and Wade, Beckett."

"Alright, but I'll be there of course if you still need me," she replied with a slight nod.

"Believe me when I say I keep that in mind," Brad replied before they got into his squad car. He drove, leading Bernier and Wade in the other cruiser to the hamlet and the marina. "The one thing I'm wondering though," he commented as they were making their way north finally.

"The master?" Castle asked.

"No, well yes, the orchestrator," Brad said. "What's his take from this exactly?"

"I think he's behind the scenes," Castle said.

"I have to agree, he's setting this up, like a puppeteer," Beckett said. "Letting everything work as he sees fit. Did you ever get the idea that maybe he got those patients out of the hospital?"

"Tempted them?" Castle asked. When she nodded he nodded in return and told her, "Definitely the way this is going. But we'll have to see what happens once we get a hold of the faux Driscoll."

"Which we'll be doing soon," Brad said. When he noticed Beckett was looking at him he said, "I agree, it's very likely we'll have to dig a little deeper to see who the orchestrator is." The car fell silent then as he had to concentrate on getting to the marina though he was soon pulling into the parking lot and they rushed out of the car to the building where they could see a woman waiting in front of the door.

"Chief, the boat is down at slip eighteen," the woman called when they were close.

"Which direction?" Brad asked. He looked with Castle and Beckett towards the direction she pointed and the mast of the boat she identified was the one they were looking for.

When the chief then looked to her, Beckett said, "I would just go in, taking cover with the other boats but make sure that you don't reveal yourselves too soon," as she knew he was asking her opinion on how they should go in. "Once you get a pair of binoculars of course."

"Of course," Brad replied, holding up the small scope he'd brought. He looked through it and then handed it wordlessly to Beckett.

Studying what she could see of the top of the boat through the slightly tinted windows, Beckett couldn't see any kind of movement but knew that didn't mean anything. "Has anyone been coming off the ship or going to it?" she asked the worker as she handed the scope to Castle.

"No ma'am, it docked and the man aboard let me know via radio he was likely going to stay a while, he'd pay me around two," the woman replied.

"Did you ask why two?" Castle said, looking at her as he handed the scope back to Brad.

"The first charge comes two hours after docking, besides the standard fee we have," the woman answered. "I didn't really see a reason to demand payment from him until I realized you were looking for the boat."

"You didn't know," Brad said. "We're going to be boarding, just in case I'd like you and your employees inside to stay away from the windows and remain inside." When the woman went back in he turned to Castle and Beckett saying, "I'd tell you two to do the same if I thought you'd listen in any way. So instead, just keep back."

"We will," Beckett replied. "But I'm not kidding about calling me if it turns out you need me." When Brad nodded to her and then left with Bernier and Wade she said to Castle, "Really wish David hadn't added that clause."

"You know he's thinking of our daughters with that," Castle replied simply since it wasn't the first time his wife had chafed at having to hold back though she wasn't a cop anymore.

"I just hope they find him," Beckett said musingly. She nearly jumped when her phone rang, having been watching the three on the dock so intently.

"CSU?" Castle asked, recognizing the number on the screen.

"Brad must have told them to call me for now," Beckett said before she and Castle went back a little to the other side of the building so they could talk. "Beckett," she answered.

"Yeah, you might want to tell the chief that we took a look at the coil of rope your suspect bought," a woman said. "It was cut at the end."

"How much?" Castle asked.

"About four feet," the woman replied.

"Anything else?" Beckett asked, looking at her husband and knowing that he was thinking the same as her.

"No we'll call back if we get something but that you need to hear," the woman replied.

"Thank you," Beckett said. "So he's dead," she commented, putting away her phone and looking at the dock. By then the three had gone onto the boat and she sighed saying, "So the orchestrator again."

"Yeah, and with this…" Castle said, frowning. "He could be gone."

"We'll find something, at the very least the ID of whoever faux Driscoll is," Beckett said, knowing he was right.

Nodding, Castle walked with her back to where they'd been standing before the phone call and he was suddenly shoved aside as his wife in front of him stopped.

Before Beckett could recover from being grabbed from behind, she found she was being dragged over to the water and she was quick then to jab her elbow back as hard as she could into her attacker's ribs, hearing the exhale of breath as she was released. She fell onto her hands and knees from momentum as they'd still been moving and she threw herself back to see that Palmer was standing with an awl raised above her head while Castle was grabbing onto her arm. "Bernier!" she yelled to the officer as she jumped up and grabbed the woman's wrist; having looked back at the boat to find he was the first to step out onto the aft deck.

"She's…" Castle tried to say, finding he was having a hard time trying to keep Palmer from getting out of his grip. With Beckett helping him, he nodded to her and said, " _The other, keep them apart_."

Hoping that would work, Beckett hurried to the woman's other arm that had her hand clenched in a fist and once she had that wrist in her grip she and Castle started forcing her down.

"Bring them back," Bernier said, coming up to them. He grabbed Palmer's wrists and handcuffed them before taking her and making her stand.

"What the hell happened?" Brad asked, running over with Wade.

"She attacked Beckett," Castle said angrily. "Tried to stab her with that awl," he added, nodding to the weapon that had fallen to the concrete.

"Yeah, our murder weapon," Brad said. "Get her in your car and to holding," he told Bernier. When the two officers had left he asked Beckett, "Alright?"

"I'm fine, she didn't have time to do anything she was running too fast," she assured him, watching as Palmer was led away. "So anything in the boat?"

"Yeah, the faux Driscoll, who is actually Hector Bowen," Brad replied. "Dead; stabbed and then hung."

"She stabbed him?" Castle asked.

"She did, tried to hide it but of course the blood was a dead give away," Brad said. "And she used the rope from that coil he'd brought."

"CSU called us about that when you were getting on the boat," Beckett replied.

"Yeah come on, I have Devin coming to watch CSU, we need to get back to the station and interview our killer," Brad said before they headed back to his car.

* * *

As soon as they stepped into the bull pen, Castle, Beckett and Brad paused seeing all the desks were empty. But a scream from holding sent them running to find that all the officers where inside the cell where Palmer was, two holding her arms and Hutchinson trying to talk to her to calm her down.

"I'm only talking to them," Palmer was shrieking. She twisted to try and get out of the officers' grasp and she managed to see the others coming up. "To them, the writers," she nearly hissed.

"Let us," Beckett said quickly, putting her hand on Brad's shoulder when she saw him open his mouth to protest.

Looking at her, and then Castle, Brad nodded and then went into the cell saying, "Ms. Palmer? We'll let them talk to you but you have to calm down."

Laughing shortly, Palmer nodded saying, "Just let me speak to them."

"Do you want to go to a room to speak?" Beckett asked.

"No, here," Palmer said immediately.

"Everyone leave," Brad told the others. When they'd done so and Palmer was locked in the cell again he leaned toward Castle saying, "I'll be right outside to hear."

"So Ms. Palmer," Beckett said, going up to the mesh that blocked the woman from her and Castle who'd come over to stand with her. "What is it exactly you'd like to tell us? If it's your confession, it'd be better to speak with Chief Davis."

"He can hear me," Palmer said, gesturing with her chin to the door leading into holding. "I know he's there. Look, you have to know all of this was a plan."

"We're aware of it but why kill these women?" Castle asked.

Pushing back from the mesh, Palmer started to mutter a little under her breath before yelling, "No! No, I have to tell them! They need to know!"

Sharing a look with her husband, Beckett asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"To him," Palmer sighed. "He doesn't want you to know of course but this he said I can tell you. They all needed help, that's why me and Hines killed them and that's why and me and Bowen too."

"Were they the ones to kill them or was it you?" Beckett gently asked.

"Me," Palmer said with a wide smile on her face. "He wasn't sure but I told him I could do it, I knew if I just went up, like this," she told them, demonstrating an upwards stabbing motion with her hand. "It'd kill them without any problem. And slower too," she added, nodded her head with the same smile still on her face. "He wanted that, to help them you know."

"Why did they need your help?" Castle asked, more and more disturbed as the woman continued to speak.

"I don't know," Palmer said vaguely. "He just said they did… but he was smart and he told us we all needed help and he said we'd get help."

"But Hines and Bowen are dead," Beckett replied.

"It's what they wanted," Palmer said, beaming at them. "They just had to help him and then they got it."

"And you?" Castle asked, wondering if he wanted to know.

"I had to kill them and then I could go home," Palmer said.

"To your apartment," Beckett said.

"That's only temporary," Palmer said, sighing and shaking her head. "No, my home is the hospital and I didn't want to go but they said I was all better." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head again saying, "Now I can stay for good."

"Can you tell us who he is?" Beckett asked then.

"I don't know," Palmer replied. "He never said his name." She then gave a girlish giggle that made the hairs stand up on the back of Castle and Beckett's necks and said, "He knew you would want to know, so he never let us see him."

"What about his voice?" Castle asked.

"He would change it when he saw us," Palmer replied.

"And it was just you, Hines and Bowen?" Beckett said. When Palmer nodded she glanced at Castle and then said to the woman. "Is there anything else he would want you to tell us?"

"Yes," the woman said quickly. "That it's over." She then turned away and went to sit down saying, "All done," in a very girlish tone.

At that point, Beckett knew the woman wasn't going to say any more; that she probably didn't have any more to tell them; and she tugged gently on Castle's sleeve to signal to him to go. As they turned, they both froze when she heard the woman start to chant a rhyme and she looked at her husband before they walked out to where Brad was waiting for them.

"Did you hear that?" Castle asked the chief.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to recommend the county psychiatrist come in to speak to her," Brad replied. "And have them mention her going back to the hospital to get her to talk to them."

"Yeah, good idea," Castle replied. "You think she's telling the truth? Or is she the orchestrator."

"It depends," Beckett said then.

"You think she's suffering from multiple personality disorder?" Brad asked.

"No," Beckett replied before he'd finished speaking. "It's someone, though I'm pretty sure she's not kidding that the orchestrator hid his identity."

"Me neither, considering that he used everyone else to commit these murders," Castle said.

"Alright, so then I guess we're at a standstill on the orchestrator until I have a better chance to talk to her… or the psychiatrist does," Brad said with a sigh.

"And you're not going to try and look for him?" Castle said.

"They're looking through what we know about Palmer, Hines and Bowden," Brad said, nodding to two of his officers. "They're especially looking through Bowden."

"Do you have anything yet about him?" Beckett asked.

"On my desk, I called it in to Hutchinson," Brad reminded them. He led them over to his office and to his desk where he picked up the file that was there, reading through it. "Okay, so he's; he was; thirty three and was also at the Buffalo hospital," he began.

"You need to look into that place," Castle said. "Who was his doctor?"

"A Dr. Emma Svendson," Brad read. "He was treated for manic depression with slight schizophrenia… slight?"

"It might have been the start of it," Beckett suggested.

"If Alexis was here she'd be able to answer that," Castle said.

"Okay, so yes we'll have to look into that hospital, I'd like to talk with Palmer's doctor… and Hines'" Brad replied.

"And do you need us for that?" Castle asked, sharing a look with his wife before they looked back at the chief.

"Not really, it's just grunt work," Brad said absently before he closed the file and looked up at them. "And of course looking into Bowden, more desk work."

"The orchestrator?" Beckett said.

"That's going to take more time but at the moment…" Brad said. "Look," he hurried to say when the two looked at each other again. "I know you don't want to stop but the only thing I'd need you for is the desk work."

"Which we can still do," Beckett replied. "If you're worried about us missing Julia's class, we won't, if we leave here in an hour."

"Deal?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Brad said, shaking his head though he was smiling slightly at them. "Okay, then if you really want to help still, I'd have to ask if you two could look into that escape the hospital had."

"Will the hospital talk to us though?" Castle asked.

"You didn't let me finish," Brad replied. "With me, so yes, they'll talk to us." He went around his desk to sit down, turning his phone to speaker before he dialed the number of the hospital. After a receptionist answered he introduced himself and then said, "I'd like to speak with the head of security."

"This is Dwayne Walsh, head of hospital security," a man on the other end said after the chief had been transferred.

Listening in as Brad asked Walsh about the escape, Beckett was surprised when the man played it down immediately, looking at Castle. She gestured him to lean over and then whispered into his ear, "He might think he'll get in trouble."

"Well, we can e-mail you the footage but I'm not sure what you'll find," Walsh was saying as Castle nodded in agreement with his wife.

"I'd still like to see that," Brad replied. "And you're sure there was no one else missing?"

"No," Walsh said simply. "Is there anything else?"

"That's all, thank you," Brad said before he hung up.

"Did Judge Carpenter ever get back to you on the warrants?" Beckett asked.

"Not yet, she's presiding over a case so I'm sure she hasn't gotten to mine yet," the chief said before he leaned back. "So… time to chew the fat?"

"You have bizarre phrases, it would have been interesting to see you and Castle when you were younger," Beckett said in amusement.

"That's it?" Brad said as Hutchinson had come in then with a paper.

"All I could find, he was in and out of institutions from about twelve," the officer said before leaving.

"Did he have a juvie record?" Castle asked.

"No," Brad replied, reading.

"What is it?" Beckett asked.

"He had a job from the time he was released; a month ago; until now," the chief replied, looking up at them.

"And now we know why all this didn't happen sooner," Beckett replied. "He needed to wait for everyone to be able to join in."

"And finish up any last minute planning," Castle added to that. "What about the job."

"It was a marina in Oyster Bay," Brad said. "I better call," he then told them after thinking for a moment. Picking up the phone, he called the number that came with the job and was quickly speaking to the owner.

"Oh yeah, I hired him, said his name was Sylvester Driscoll but he only worked a week and a half and then went missing on Saturday," the man was saying. "Never showed up for his shift."

"Was there ever anyone with him, or meeting him there?" Beckett asked.

"Not to my knowledge," the man replied before there was the muffled sound of him talking to someone in the background. "Nah, no one here; they had the same shift as him; they don't remember anyone coming in. And he mostly kept to himself, so it wasn't like we got to know him too well."

"Alright, thank you sir, I appreciate your cooperation," Brad said before he hung up the phone. "Okay, so I just got the surveillance footage angled towards the woods."

"I don't know," Beckett said doubtfully as she and Castle went to walk around him to watch. "If it took them hours to find them… unless of course-"

"The orchestrator met them closer to the building?" Brad asked.

"You're starting to become entrapped in our web of mind melding; watch it," Castle said jokingly to his friend. "Maybe but again, highly doubtful he'd be that sloppy when he's been this careful about himself."

"Amazing he wanted so many patsies," Brad said. "So you two think he was further away?"

"Much further away," Beckett said as the chief then opened up a picture that had been attached to the e-mail the security guard had sent. It turned out to be an aerial map of the hospital grounds; with an x in black over the area the patients had been found. "So yeah, he's not going to be there."

"Still need to watch and see," Brad said, though his clipped tone betrayed the fact that he wasn't expecting the orchestrator there either.

The scene was in black and white and the three patients started to walk in single file away from the camera, further into the woods in the waning daylight. They kept walking until they disappeared and the clip jumped to the three being escorted by three guards in the light of morning.

"Okay, so that's why the newspaper had the story," Brad replied. He then went to the map again and said, "Yeah, no cameras on the outside so the orchestrator was aware of that…" He then went to the phone and dialed the security guard at the hospital before he asked the man, "Do you have any guards that have recently left the job, have been fired or else are on vacation right now?"

"Um, no to the first two," the guard replied. "And as for the last… yeah."

"His name?" Brad said, looking up at Castle and Beckett.

"Sydney Dewey," the guard said. "But he's in Alaska, he has a cabin there and there's no electricity, no phone reception. I mean, I'll give you his number, but it won't go through."

"Alright," Brad said as he hurriedly wrote the number down. "Do you happen to know if he had any conflicts with patients in the past?"

"No, he was well liked as he assisted the nurses in taking them around the grounds for walks," Walsh replied.

When Brad had hung up with the man, Castle and Beckett watched him speak to the person in charge of hiring nurses and doctors but there was no one with the same initials as the aliases and the guard; or anyone having quit or been fired. They looked on as he dialed the number for the guard but weren't surprised when it went straight to voicemail.

"A wife?" Beckett asked.

"No he's single, no kids," Brad said. "Only child too."

"He's here," Castle said. "He had to be, there's no way everyone involved could follow his instructions down to the letter."

"Yeah, I agree, so it's not Dewey and now we have the reason for the s names," Brad said. "If there's been no conflict, then they just targeted him randomly."

"Or because of the cabin," Beckett pointed out.

"Because of the cabin," Brad said with a nod. "Okay, so, we have looked through this and I think we're set enough with the hospital that short of flying up to Buffalo we've gotten all we can."

"So does that mean we go?" Castle asked.

"You need to," Brad replied. "Though I need you to sign the paperwork… later, it's too soon."

"So is the case over?" Castle said.

"To a degree," the chief said as he stood up while they went to where their coats were. "I'm not giving up on the orchestrator of course but there's nothing much we can do on that end. But should I get anything else, I'll call you."

"Just not in the morning," Beckett told him as she was putting on her scarf.

"That's right, you're heading to Eliza's class," Brad said as he then walked with them to the lobby. "Should be fun."

"I just hope they all pay attention," Castle said. "But yeah, it'll be interesting to see her in class for a little."

"I'll text you in the morning," Brad told Beckett. "And you can come or not, that's your choice."

"I'll wait for him to join me," Beckett said, nodding to her husband.

"As I had expected," Brad said with a slight smile. "Alright, thanks for your help again, I appreciate it and you know all the rest."

"We'll see you Brad," Castle said, shaking his hand before Beckett did the same.

"Call us," Beckett told him as they left. When he promised them he would she and her husband went to their car and she said, "You feel the same."

"Of course, the orchestrator is somewhere out there," Castle said as they got inside. "But Brad and the others are going to need to look for him for now, we wouldn't really get far."

"Yeah, we should hurry," Beckett said, getting her phone out of her pocket. She texted Rebecca that they were on their way and then continued saying, "We'll just manage to make it for the last hour."

"Great I was hoping we could, considering…" Castle started to say. He trailed off and then shook his head, "Seems like that argument was a long, long time ago."

"I know but stop thinking that," Beckett said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "We're fine; we should focus our attention on the girls now."

"So we're done with paying some slight attention to us?" Castle asked. He laughed when his wife squeezed his hand harder than before and said, "Alright, you know best."

"You already agreed with me," Beckett said with a slight roll of her eyes. Since they were stopped at a light she leaned over, kissing him on the cheek before sitting back in her chair. With a last squeeze of his hand she let go, leaning back against her seat as he made his way to their daughters' school.


	8. Come Back Into My Arms Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song I Don't Want To Do It written by Bob Dylan and sung by George Harrison, from George's album Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison.

Spinning around, Julia laughed when she saw her sister running around trying to catch up with her before she stopped and her skirt went back down around her legs. "Good?" she asked Eliza.

"Yeah," the toddler replied immediately with a heavy giggle. "More?"

"I- Mommy, Daddy!" Julia cried before she turned her head and saw the two people coming in were their parents. She was a little slower than her sister and had to run after her to catch up before they were throwing their arms around their mother's waist.

"Hey, we're glad to see you too," Castle said before the two were hurriedly turning to hug him. He leaned down and kissed the tops of their heads before Beckett was speaking.

"Ms. Grey is back, you better go Julia," she told her. As the little girl rushed back to the dance floor, since her teacher was in fact coming out from the changing rooms, she picked up Eliza and kissed her temple before they sat with Rebecca, Mari and Julia's classmate Dawn.

"Hi," Castle said to Dawn, who smiled back and him before she watched as Ms. Grey started to talk to the students standing in front of her.

Waiting for the teacher to finish, Rebecca took the chance to talk to Beckett telling her, "Julia asked if Dawn could go over to your place to play."

"And what did you tell her?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"That she'd have to ask you," Rebecca replied. "I can't make those decisions."

Beckett smiled as her friend's tone was a little scoffing and then turned her attention to the class who had paired off. She looked down at Eliza as the students started to dance, since the toddler was starting to bounce on her lap. She kissed the side of her head as they watched the teacher calling out steps to the pairs and then stopped the music to give them a final step to learn.

"She's gotten really good at this," Castle said, leaning over to his wife.

"I know," Beckett said, smiling at him before the students were trying out the step themselves.

"Again," Grey called to them when they'd stop. "Again," she said. And she called the same one last time until she had them stop and dismissed the class saying, "Great job, we'll of course go through that step a little more in depth tomorrow. But since you need to head home, that's enough for today."

While her classmates were going to the changing rooms, Julia ran to her parents and said to her mother, "I invited Dawn to come and to stay to dinner, can she?"

"She can," Castle said, seeing that his wife was nodding in agreement next to him. "But what about her parents?"

"We texted them," Rebecca said. "And they said as long as it was fine with you two, she can stay until seven… unless…" she trailed off, getting her phone out. She reread the message that had been sent to get and said, "Unless that's too late."

"Let me text her," Beckett said, getting her phone out of her pocket then. She already had Dawn's mother's number; since she was friends with the woman; and texted her. "Okay Dawn, you're more than welcome to stay for dinner but your mom wants you to do your homework before you play."

"And can Mari come over too?" Julia asked in a rush.

"That's up to Rebecca," Beckett said, exchanging a smile with her friend as she knew she'd been expecting that too.

"You can," Rebecca told her daughter as she and Julia turned to her expectantly. "But when I come to get you; or your daddy, it depends; you better come with us okay?"

"I will," Mari promised. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rebecca said, smiling as her daughter hugged her tightly.

"Go change so we can head home," Castle told Julia who had hugged Rebecca quickly in thanks.

"Okay, I'm going to head home now," Rebecca said. "Have fun Mari, and behave."

"I will, say hi to Daddy and Dani," the little girl replied.

"I will, bye," Rebecca said before she hurriedly left.

"Dani?" Castle asked knowingly.

"Yeah," Beckett replied with a smile before she let Eliza down from her lap.

When her sister came outside, the toddler ran over to her saying, "Dance at home?"

"No, I think I'm going to take a break so I can play with my friends," Julia told her before taking her hand.

"Oh," Eliza said, sounding disappointed.

"And you too silly Lizzy," Julia said, smiling as her sister then giggled.

"What do we play?" Eliza asked eagerly, jumping up and down.

"For now, getting you dressed," Castle said, grabbing her and tickling her sides before she cried out in laughter. He got her coat on and then her other layers before he stood to get his own on as she watched. "What do you want to play?" he asked as he then picked her up.

"Dunno," Eliza replied after stopping to think for a moment.

"You'll see after they all finish their homework," Beckett said as they were leaving the dance class once they were all bundled up. "You all have your backpacks?" she asked the three older girls.

"Yeah," Julia said. "Did you drive?"

"No, we walked," Castle replied.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Julia asked her mother then.

"We might have to go into the station but for the most part we're done," Castle said.

"My school?" Eliza asked worriedly as they stepped outside.

"Your class," Castle corrected her. "And yes, I'm still going to go," he assured her. He smiled at Beckett when she turned back to him at their youngest's cheer before he kissed her temple. He then said, "Wanted to join us love?" as she walked back to them while the three girls walked ahead.

"I did," Beckett replied, slipping her arm through his, holding onto the upper part with her hand as she leaned in to him. "Warm?" she asked Eliza, making sure her hat was on securely.

When the toddler nodded Castle said, "I did a pretty good job I think in getting her all bundled up. Do you feel like a marshmallow?" he directed toward Eliza.

"Squishy Daddy," she replied with a nod, her voice muffled by her scarf.

"Then he did a great job," Beckett said with a smile. By then they were walking around to the driveway of their house, the girls waiting at the porch before she opened the door. She helped the three take off their layers in the entry, having to talk to Macca a little sternly when the dog jumped and licked at all of them. "Go ahead and take him into the kitchen, start your homework," she told the girls. "And take Eliza with you," she added, directing that to Julia.

"We'll start," the little girl assured her. "But what is she going to do?"

"I'll get something for her," Beckett said.

"Daddy?" Eliza asked as her sister took her hand.

"I have to make some cocoa for you three but you don't want to do something with your mom?" Castle asked her.

"Both," Eliza said stubbornly.

"We will, go," Beckett urged the three. "So what should we do for dinner?" she asked her husband when they were alone and had started to take off their scarves.

"I already thought about it," Castle replied. At his wife's raised eyebrow he said, "And since we have Dawn with us too, Chinese."

Smiling, Beckett said, "I'm not surprised that came to mind but a mix of Dim Sum and other dishes would be better."

"Let's ask what they'd prefer," Castle suggested. When Beckett rolled her eyes; smiling at the same time; he leaned over to kiss her gently but slightly lingering. " _I'm glad you didn't get hurt_ ," he murmured to her.

" _Me too_ ," Beckett replied before they shared a quick kiss and started to walk over to the kitchen together.

"So girls," Castle said, appearing in the kitchen first since Beckett had detoured to the family room. "We were thinking about getting Chinese tonight but we want to know if you would like Dim Sum and Chinese or just one of those?"

"Just Dim Sum," Julia said quickly.

"Eliza?" Beckett asked, coming in with some items before she sat next to the toddler.

"That," she said quickly in reply.

"Mari?" Castle then said. When she and then Dawn agreed to just Dim Sum he told his wife, "So I guess I was right."

"We'll order in a half hour," Beckett said, smiling and slightly shaking her head.

"That's not enough time to play," Julia protested.

"Afterwards you can play," Castle assured them. "For now, cocoa!"

Beckett wasn't surprised when the three older girls giggled at that and she turned to Eliza, seeing she was trying to take the jar of buttons that she held. "You want to do this?" she asked.

"Yeah," the toddler replied.

"Okay, we're going to do something though, that's a little like homework too," Beckett told her.

"Like us Lizzy!" Julia said as she could see her sister was a little confused by that.

"What?" Eliza then asked her mother.

"We're going to teach you about colors," Beckett replied before she then glanced over to the kitchen.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm coming," Castle said, having checked his phone quickly for a text since he'd had it on silent during the dance class. He started to take the mugs of cocoa over to the table, setting them out in front of everyone before he sat down on the other side of Eliza. "So what's the lesson exactly?" he asked.

The toddler giggled then and said, "Daddy can't know?"

"I didn't have a chance to tell him, so it's a surprise for him too," Beckett said. "What we're going to do is make circles with colors made from two other colors."

"That's a great lesson, you'll love it sweetheart," Castle said, leaning over and kissing her temple.

"How do I do that?" Eliza then asked.

"Okay, first, you know the primary colors already, remember we taught you," Beckett told her seriously.

Eliza nodded and when her parents urged her to pick out three buttons in those colors, she studied them, taking a blue, red and yellow one. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we're going to make the colors," Beckett said, putting down three colored pencils in the same colors. "Take the blue and color a big space with it," she said, setting down a smaller piece of paper in front of her. Once Eliza had done that she then picked up the red crayon and told her to do the same. "What color is that?" she asked once the two were together on the paper.

"Purple!" Eliza said proudly.

"Now pick out some purple buttons," Castle said; Beckett having whispered to him what she wanted Eliza to do for the 'lesson' while she'd been coloring.

With her tongue sticking out slightly the toddler did so and Julia said to her, "You learn really fast Lizzy."

"Are you three getting your work done?" Beckett asked them, leaning over to look at their papers.

"Yeah, we are," Julia assured her. "Are you going to teach her the other two colors?"

"Right after we glue these…" Castle said, helping Eliza do so.

After teaching her about green and orange and making circles of buttons in those colors, Castle and Beckett had finished their lesson and the three girls had finished their homework. While his wife was helping them pack their backpacks, Castle called in their order at the local Dim Sum restaurant before going to where the five were waiting for him.

"We have twenty minutes," he told them. "So they could play something," Castle said to his wife.

"Yeah, something short," Beckett replied.

"Or we could start a game," Julia began. She smiled when Dawn whispered something to her and said, "Can we play dancing party in the living room?" to her parents.

"Go ahead," Beckett said, nodding to the doorway. "Is your sister going to be joining you?"

"Yeah," Julia said seriously as Eliza was watching her anxiously. When her mother made a gesture with her hand towards the door, she hurried out with the other three and up to her room.

"You know I never saw, but your dad is pretty cute," Dawn said as they were looking through the costume trunk in Julia's room.

Pausing, the little girl looked at her friend and said, "Yeah… why?"

Giggling at her friend's unsure tone, Dawn said, "I'm just saying… you know I think Peter is a lot cuter. Plus your dad doesn't stop looking at your mom."

"I told you all parents have special looks for each other," Julia said, since they'd talked about that before.

"Do your parents?" Dawn asked Mari.

"Of course, they're in love," she replied. She then paused and said, "Julia, why don't we do something else?"

"You don't want to dance at a ball?" Dawn asked in surprise.

"Remember what she told us at recess?" Mari said to her. "About writing?"

"You want to write?" Dawn said in confusion.

"No, I want to see Julia do that," Mari said, shaking her head before she turned her head to her friend.

"But that's not fun for you," Julia protested though she let Mari and Dawn close the lid of the trunk.

"Just until we eat," Dawn said. "We want to see what it looks like and your parents are writers so it should be cool."

"Okay," Julia said hesitantly before she led them back downstairs, holding Eliza's hand. When she got to the door of the family room, she stopped abruptly and was almost run into by her friends. She coughed loudly and Castle and Beckett nearly jumped apart as they broke apart from their kiss.

"You guys didn't dress up," Castle said, not realizing his voice was a little higher in pitch than normal.

"I think they changed their minds love," Beckett said. "What do you want to do instead?"

"Can we start the book?" Julia asked then.

"You want to do that?" Castle said in surprise.

"We want to too," Mari was quick to say.

"Well, we can't do too much," Beckett said, looking over at her husband.

"No, but we can plan it out like we said we'd do first," Castle took up then. "And the best part is that you can ask your friends what they think of the ideas we get."

"Will you say the truth?" Julia immediately said to Mari and Dawn. "If it's good or not?"

"Yeah, 'cause I want to read this book when it's done," Dawn said firmly.

"Me too, but you'll write it great," Mari said, squeezing her friend's hand. "You hear them writing so much how will you not?"

Smiling as Julia beamed at her friend, Beckett watched Castle leave to grab some paper before she had the girls gather at the coffee table. "Okay," she said, "Do you want them to help us too?"

"They can but do we say if we use their ideas?" Julia asked.

"You remember we thanked you for the idea for the second story," Castle said, coming back in then. "In our dedication, so yeah, we should." He sat down next to Beckett on the couch and said, "Do you want to think of a title first?"

"Um… yeah," Julia said. "What about Inspector Macca and the Case of the Stolen Scones?"

"Nice," Castle said, nodding his head as Beckett was doing the same next to him. "Alright, so now that we apparently have a case, you need to figure out who it is."

"Which means you need characters," Beckett said with a smile. She and her husband exchanged a look when their daughter rattled off a bunch of names; of dogs with names that started with the same letter as their breed. "Wow, you've been thinking about this a lot I think," she commented.

"I was, I really wanted to get good names, since you and Daddy have good ones for yours," Julia replied. "And I think the thief should be…" she started to say before trailing off and looking at her friends.

"We'll get that later," Castle said quickly, knowing she didn't want to spoil it for the two. "But first, setting of the crime… I think it should be in the laird's kitchen," he suggested.

"Yeah, kinda like the nursery rhyme," Dawn said.

"That's true," Beckett said with a smile. "But with this we should have the scones for a special party."  
"And even after they find the scones they have the party still and the dog that stole it is there too," Julia suggested.

"Do you want him to be punished?" Castle asked after writing that down.

"I don't know, should I?" the little girl asked her friends.

"No, let him say he's sorry and he shouldn't have," Mari suggested.

"Or she, it could be a girl dog," Julia said with a smile.

"What about getting to the point when they find the scones and who it is," Beckett said.

"I think we should have him go to an older dog and see if she knows who took the scones because she knows everything that happens where they are," Julia said. She then looked thoughtful and said, "What about going to Edinburgh?"

"To look for the thief?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, to try and find someone he thinks is the thief there but he doesn't, the dog just took some… doggie treats that the cook gave them," Julia hurriedly said.

"Good idea," Castle said, writing that down quickly. "We also should have a little background story about Macca in this book."

"So will he go to his parents?" Mari asked.

"He should, and they should help him with the case too," Julia said earnestly.

"Like your mommy and daddy are doing," Dawn said quickly with a smile.

Julia glanced at her parents out of the corner of her eye with a small grin on her face, relieved when they both smiled back at her. "So is that enough for the story?" she then asked as her father had written a few more things down.

"I think so, remember a kids' book isn't going to be as long as ours are," Beckett pointed out to her.

"And there's dinner anyways," Castle said as there was a knock on the door and Macca barked once.

Watching as the two adults left for the front door Dawn said, "I hope you get to work on the book some more, you're so lucky."

"I know," Julia agreed. "We better go; I have to set the table."

"We can help," Mari said immediately as they all stood up.

"So can I," Dawn added.

"And me?" Eliza asked as she walked to the kitchen holding her sister's hand.

"Yeah, of course, you have to get your plate ready too," Julia said, squeezing her hand gently.

"Let me get the plates for you guys," Beckett said, coming back with a bag of food. She got the plates, forks, chopsticks and napkins for the girls and helped Castle take the food out as she also kept an eye on the four going around the table.

"Okay, buffet or on the table?" Castle asked when they'd finished, looking over at the set table to see if they had room.

"On the table, so we won't need to keep going back and forth," Beckett decided after following his gaze. She started to take the containers to the table, not surprised when Julia begged to help, Mari and Dawn asking right after her. So she and her husband had all four girls help carry something until they were gathering around the table.

"Have you had this before?" Julia asked, unable to help beaming at the sight of her parents sitting next to each other, Eliza to their father's right.

"Yeah," Dawn said as she was asking her. "But not a lot, do you?"

"Chinese is my favorite," Beckett said with a smile as she and Castle were dishing out the food. "So we get it pretty often."

"It is great food," Castle said as he was taking a _bao_ for himself and then a shrimp _shu mai_ before setting his plate in front of him. "Okay, you can eat," he said as the girls had waited for them. After the first few bites, he wasn't surprised when Dawn spoke, bringing up something he'd been wondering about since the four had come down to the family room before the meal had arrived.

"What are we going to do before we have to go home?" the little girl was asking.

Shrugging as she was eating at that moment, Julia waited until she had finished and said, "I don't know, do you still want to do the dance ball still?"

"Let's do something else," Mari suggested.

"Like what?" Julia asked her.

Beckett watched the three then talk about what they could play in amusement, not surprised that they couldn't really agree on what to do. "Why don't you wait and see what time it is when we finish dinner to decide?" she suggested.

"Better idea," Castle said. "That way you'll know what you have time for when you pick."

The girls shared looks before they went back to their food, answering Castle and Beckett's questions about their day at school. When they'd finished eating they also helped them clear the table while Eliza stood against the island, watching them all coming back and forth from the table.

"So you have about an hour and a half," Beckett said, looking at her watch as Castle was washing the dishes. "Now you can pick something to do."

Looking at her friends, Julia then said with a smile, "I think we want to play a video game."

"Is that what you were whispering about just now," Castle said as he'd seen the three talking together at the table before bringing more plates over.

"Yeah, we decided," Julia said firmly, nodding her head.

"Give us a second and then we'll join you," Beckett said. "But you can take your sister and friends over to the family room to wait okay?"

Nodding, Julia took her friends' hands and led them over to the room before she started to go back for her sister, stopping when she saw her walking over to the door with Macca. "Sorry, you were standing in the corner, I didn't see you," she said, going over and taking her hand to lead her inside.

"Do I play?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah, I bet you Mommy will say we need to play one of your games first," Julia replied with a smile as she looked at her friends. "I hope that's okay."

Shrugging Dawn said, "Maybe we can play too, what do you have for her?"

Leading her friends over to the cabinet under the TV where their video games were, Julia said, "They're for young kids, but the I Spy games are really good."  
"Then let's play that," Mari said as Eliza was nodding while her big sister held up the game for her to see.

"You've played that before here though," Julia said.

"That's okay, it's still fun," Mari said. "And I'm gonna have to do that with Dani."

"What about a game for us?" Dawn then said, looking at the two who were smiling at each other.

"Those are mine," Julia said, pointing to some games to the right of a small space after the games that were Eliza's.

"Let's play this one," Dawn said, taking one out.

Smiling as she saw that it was the _Dancing With the Stars_ game, Julia said, "My big sister gave that to me, since she doesn't play it anymore. You really want to do that?"

"Yeah, even though it's not the same dancing that you do," Dawn replied.

"You don't want to learn to dance?" Julia asked.

Just as Dawn was shaking her head, Castle and Beckett came into the room and he said, "So you're dancing tonight it looks like."

"Dawn picked it," Mari explained. "And then Eliza wants to play the I Spy."

"Do you?" Beckett asked, turning her attention to the toddler. She smiled when she nodded her head quickly, her eyes wide and then said, "Okay, then get that ready."

"Daddy?" Eliza said, going to him and holding onto the pocket of his pants tightly.

"Yeah? And be careful," Castle said a little absently as he was setting up the game.

"'lexis?" Eliza asked pleadingly.

"We'll call her soon, I think she's got a late class tonight, so after seven we'll see if she's ready to talk," Castle said. When the toddler nodded at that he then handed the controller to Julia and went back to the couch, sitting with Beckett as they watched the four in front of them starting to play. " _I got something from_ Brad _, a text_ ," he murmured though the girls wouldn't be able to understand him.

" _About the case_?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she then asked, " _And are you going to tell me_?"

" _He got proof that the awl_ Palmer _was holding was the weapon_ ," Castle said, still keeping his voice low as he didn't want the girls to ask who that was. " _The blood matches all of our vics. They think she grooved out spaces in the metal near the end of the awl, put the vics blood in and used the rest to stab_."

" _So with that in her possession and her confession, did he stop_ -" Beckett began to ask.

" _No, they're still looking into it but he told me to warn you they're having a hard time trying to get anything to point out who the master is_ ," Castle interrupted.

"Considering the trouble he went to… I'm not surprised," Beckett said under her breath.

"Daddy, we're ready to play the next game now," Julia said then, turning to them.

Beckett watched as the three girls then tried to get Castle to play one round after he had set up the game but he quickly declined. "You're lucky there's not too much time left," she teased him as he sat down next to her.

"I know, I'm terrible at that game," Castle replied, shaking his head. He wasn't too surprised as Dawn played, helped by their oldest since Julia had played the game so many times over the years that she was almost an expert. They applauded Dawn's round before he said, "I should have bet with you love," his voice a little loud so Julia and Mari could hear. "That they would dance together."

"Who're you dancing as?" Beckett asked as the two girls glanced back at them, Julia making a slight face.

"I'm Derek," the little girl replied.

"And I'm Jennie," Mari said. "Who we always play."

"Of course," Beckett said, leaning over against her husband as they began the round. She laughed softly as they seemed to be a little startled when they finished, and called, "A higher score than the last time you played."

"I know, we're getting better," Julia told her friend with a grin.

Before Mari could reply to that, Beckett's phone suddenly rang and she picked it up from the coffee table, seeing it was Dawn's mother. "Hello?" she answered.

Looking over to the window as Beckett said, "I see, yeah, you can I'm sure they'll understand," Castle had a pretty good idea as to who she was talking to. Once she'd finished talking to the woman he asked, "She's coming to get her?"

"Yeah, your mom's a little worried Dawn," Beckett said to the little girl. "And I'm going to call your mom, Mari," she said, going to her contacts. "Just in case she wants you home too."

Sighing, Dawn was about to speak when Julia took her hand and led her to the nearest window. "Well, I guess that's why Mommy wants to get me," she said, looking at the snow. "But still, it doesn't feel like we got to play too much. Maybe this weekend we can?"

"I hope so," Julia replied. "But I don't know what I'm doing that day."

"Me neither," Dawn said, looking with her at Mari who shrugged in response. "We have to see."

"Your mom is coming too Mari," Beckett said, hanging up her phone then. "So we need to get you guys bundled up to go."

"Can they come over tomorrow Mommy?" Julia asked as they all went out to the foyer.

"I don't think so," Castle answered for her. "Another day I'm sure but Mari will be with you in your dance class."

"Yeah, I already asked Mommy and she said it was okay," Mari said as her friend looked at her quickly.

"Great," Julia said, smiling widely. She watched as both her parents helped Dawn and Mari, looking at her little sister who was watching them as she leaned against Macca. "I'm glad you could come today," she said when Mari was finished first, hugging her tightly.

"Me too," the little girl replied, her mouth not covered yet. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Julia looked at her mother to see what she would say and when Beckett nodded she hurriedly told her, "Yep, like we always do." She then went to Dawn and hugged her saying, "I'll see you at class, we'll play at recess right?"

"I wonder where we'll play but yeah, like we always do," Dawn replied, nodding.

There was a knock on the door then and Castle, Beckett and Julia shushed Macca who barked once before calming down.

"Hey Emma," Beckett said, opening the door after seeing it was Dawn's mother. "She's ready to go."

"I had fun Mommy," Dawn said quickly. She then turned to Castle and Beckett and said, "Thanks for letting me play with Julia and have dinner here too."

"You're welcome," Beckett said.

"What she said, and you're welcome to come again," Castle said.

Turning with her daughter, Emma stopped abruptly before saying, "Your daughter's ready too."

"Hey Rebecca," Beckett said, leaning over to see around Dawn and her mother.

"We need to go, David's giving Dani a bath and I want to be there when he's done," Rebecca said. "So thanks for taking her."

"Yeah, thank you," Mari said quickly, looking up at Castle and Beckett since she and Julia were just behind them. She hugged her friend and waved before she hurried out onto the porch to take her mother's hand.

Once they were out of sight, Castle closed the door as he was taking his phone from his pocket at the same time. "Just texting Alexis," he explained to his wife as he knew she was likely wondering what he was doing.

"Can she talk?" Julia asked, a little anxiously.

"We probably need to wait for her answer," Beckett said, going to Eliza and picking her up. "And your little sister is freezing, so come on, back to the family room."

As they were going through the doorway, Castle heard his text alert sound and said, "She's in her room and ready to talk to us," a slight smile on his face.

"She wants you to hurry?" Beckett asked in amusement.

Nodding, Castle quickly went to the TV and got it set up to Skype before stepping back and said, "Hey kiddo."

"Hi Dad… and Lizzy and you too Jules," Alexis said on the screen, smiling as her little sisters had suddenly appeared from behind their dad. "So you two wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes!" Julia and Eliza cried out at the exact same time.

"Okay, then let's talk but first you two tell me all about how school went, you first Eliza," Alexis said, turning to look at her youngest sister.

Talking about what she'd done in her classroom, Eliza finished by saying, "They said Daddy is coming tomorrow and he is. And he's gonna read a book."

"That's right, I remember he's supposed to go over there," Alexis said. "So you're excited for him to go?"

Nodding her head rapidly, Eliza then said, "And so are my friends."

"You'll have to call me and tell me how that goes tomorrow," Alexis replied. "And Julia?"

It took a little longer for the little girl to talk about her day, since it also included playing dodge ball outside during recess. But once Julia had finished she asked, "How was your day?"

"Oh, you know, a lot of homework tonight," Alexis answered truthfully. "And I have an essay due in two weeks but it's going to be an easy one."

"I'm glad I don't have to write those- oh!" Julia suddenly exclaimed. "Me, Mommy and Daddy started getting our book ready today."

"You did?" Alexis asked, looking over at her dad and stepmother who were sitting on the coffee table behind the girls.

"Just planning the plot," Castle replied. "And it went pretty well but we need to see how writing it will go of course."

"Of course," Alexis said with a nod, looking back at Julia.

"I can't wait for that," the little girl said immediately.

"We'll try tomorrow if we can," Beckett said, since Julia had turned around and was looking at her.

"And you two?" Alexis asked.

"We're finished… sort of," Castle said.

"What does that mean?" Alexis asked, looking confused.

"That we have to wrap up the case, though we did find the person who committed it," Beckett said quickly.

"I see, well, I hope you two can get that finished," Alexis said. "But I should go, I have that homework to do and I should get started on the essay too."

"Are you going to plan it?" Julia asked.

"I was thinking of doing that," Alexis said with a nod.

"So we're both doing planning," Julia said with a wide smile.

"We are," Alexis replied, smiling back at her little sister. "But we'll talk… I think tomorrow, I'll text you Dad, to see how things go."

"Alright, take care Alexis and goodnight," Castle told his daughter with a smile.

"Night Dad, Kate," she replied as her stepmother murmured that to her. "And you two have a great day at school. Is Dad staying for recess?"

"Oh that's right, I forgot to tell Dawn and Mari that," Julia replied.

"They'll find out tomorrow," Castle said quickly.

"Then you'll have a great time with him," Alexis told them. "I love you two, have a great day okay?"

"We will, and I love you too 'lexis," Julia said quickly.

"Love you too 'lexis, lots, lots," Eliza then added.

After Alexis called goodnight to the whole family, the screen went dark and Castle got up to get the TV back to normal before turning to his wife. "So, what are we doing now?" he asked her.

"Since we have the time, would you two like to play with Macca?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah!" Eliza cried before her sister could say anything and she jumped up, rushing to where the dog's toys were.

Sharing a smile with Beckett, Castle stood and walked with her to the hallway where Macca was already running after the chew toy that Eliza had thrown. "Whoa, hold on sweetheart," he said, nearly running to her as he saw the toddler was trying to get onto Macca's back as he was sitting. "You know your mom doesn't like you doing that."

"Especially since Macca is nowhere near big enough for you to do that," Beckett told them.

"I wanna ride a horsie," Eliza said, frowning though she stepped aside to let her sister throw the toy next.

"When we can take them out I'll let you ride on Alex with me," Beckett told her.

"I can't wait for lessons!" Julia said, looking up at her parents. "And for your games to start again Daddy."

"Me too, I feel so fat and clumsy," Castle said, giving a mock dejected look.

"I don't think that's going to work love," Beckett said, glancing out of the corner of her eye at him. " _Remember this morning… last night_?" she whispered as she leaned against him as she knew Julia would understand those words.

His eyes slightly widening at her words, Castle swallowed a little roughly and said, "Then I feel a little out of practice playing," looking into her eyes.

"You'll practice," Beckett said simply with a small smile. "David will make sure you do."

"That's true," Castle said as they watched their daughters. He then felt her moving from him and glanced after her to see that she was going to their office.

Beckett was about to grab her camera when she suddenly felt Castle wrapping his arm around her, sliding it through her arm so he could do so. "And Julia and Eliza?" she asked with a smile as she looked back at him.

"Julia's watching her sister and Macca's watching them," Castle murmured before he reached up and pushed her hair out of the way of her neck before descending. "You smell like roses," he muttered before brushing his lips against the side of her neck up to her ear.

Smiling at that; since she knew he enjoyed the scent on her; Beckett whispered, "Would you believe I wore it for you?"

"No, you enjoy it yourself," Castle said. "Just helps that I like it too."

Beckett turned around then and wrapped her arms around his neck before whispering against his lips, "I can use the lotion later."

"It's… you would do that?" Castle asked, swallowing a little roughly.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said, as with the idea of using her rose scented lotion she got a second one to go with it. She then closed the gap between them and their lips met before they were hungrily kissing. She held onto the back of his neck with one hand as their tongues started to lightly duel at first and her other hand slid up to the back of his head. Her fingers going through his hair, she felt Castle tense up before he was almost smashing his lips to hers in response.

Castle couldn't stop himself and he pulled away before he started to kiss around her neck and then jaw before taking her lips again. He was soon so involved with her; their kisses becoming shorter and more frantic; that he completely forgot they weren't alone in the house.

"Where are Mommy and Daddy?" Eliza asked eventually, looking up from Macca who was lying down in front of her.

"I think they went to the office," Julia said, turning then. She took her sister's hand before she could go past her and they walked down the hall together. She glanced back at Macca, not surprised when the dog stayed where he was already lying. They were at the doorway to the office by then and she peeked around the doorway, trying not to giggle as she immediately saw that their parents were kissing, and heavily. She tried to pull Eliza back out so they could leave them alone but her sister broke her grasp to run inside and throw herself at their parents.

"Oh, girls," Beckett said, having pulled away from Castle when she felt their youngest hugging them both. "Sorry, I was just getting my camera, your daddy insisted we…"

"Kiss?" Julia replied. "It must be nice," she said as Beckett stepped away from Castle to grab her camera.

"It is," he said, following them to the hall again. "But you know, you're a little young to be kissing boys." When Julia wrinkled her nose in disgust he glanced at Beckett who nodded to him before they turned their attention back to the girls as they began to play again with Macca.

"Do you want us to pose?" Julia asked after throwing the stuffed toy down the hall.

"No, just play, you know I don't like you to pose," Beckett said with a smile. "Not when you're playing." She took a few pictures then, smiling as she watched them appear on her screen before showing them to her husband. When he wrapped his arm around her she smiled at him and asked, "Again? Right in front of them?"

"No, but it's tempting…" Castle said. He paused and then said, "How long do we have?"

"Why?" Beckett asked, looking at him in slight confusion.

"Can I play?" Castle asked instead of answering.

"Yeah Mommy!" Eliza cried, running to them when she heard that.

"I don't know why you have to ask me," Beckett said, her smile wide as the toddler was looking up at her pleadingly.

"Okay, then what do you want to do?" Castle asked.

"Run back and forth," Julia said, taking off down the hall.

"Julia!" Beckett said before the little girl nearly skidded to a stop. "You know-"

"But I'm wearing my slippers!" Julia complained.

"Still, no running," Beckett replied.

"Horsies!" Eliza then cried.

"That's better," Castle said. "Julia, get your horse."

"My horsie too?" Eliza asked, a little confused that he hadn't said her name as well.

Shaking his head, Castle nodded to Beckett, smiling as his wife picked up their youngest, setting her on his back. He went to the doorway of the family room and waited for Julia to grab her hobby horse and join them.

Beckett tried not to laugh as she watched the two pretend to gallop down the hall and she was quick to take pictures until they'd come back to her. When they neared her she could hear more clearly Eliza's squeal of pleasure and she did laugh until she said, "Love, you better stop."

"Yeah, I'm out of practice being a horse," Castle said, pretending to be out of breath.

"Not that," Beckett said, smiling as she got Eliza off his back. "They need a bath. Well, Julia?" she asked.

"That's fine," the little girl replied immediately. She then said, "Can we play?"

"I think so, we don't need to wash your hair," Beckett said, smiling again at Castle as he was looking at her for her to answer. She led the way up to Eliza's room, going to the bathroom before she sat down with her daughter on her lap as they waited for Castle and Julia to come with Julia's things.

"You're not starting?" he said when he saw Beckett hadn't started the water going.

"I think you can," she replied simply as Eliza was tangling her fingers through her hair. She kissed the toddler's temple before she reached over to Julia and pulled her against him. "Hurry," she said simply to her husband.

Having been watching the tableau the three made, Castle hurried to get his phone out and took a picture before he spoke saying, "Will do."

Shaking her head, Beckett waited until the water had been running for a bit and stood up then, having Julia undress before she started helping Eliza. "Okay, I hope you don't mind your daddy helping you tonight, I think I'll take a break," she said, smiling at her husband as he mouthed the words thank you to her, knowing he had wanted to help them after having been gone the night before.

"Was work hard today Mommy?" Julia asked.

"I'm fine," Beckett said with a smile, knowing that she meant if she was tired. "And things weren't too bad actually; we mainly worked in the station."

"They went to the boats," Eliza told her sister with a smile.

"And there," Castle said, having helped Julia lather her sponge before he started to wash the toddler. "We needed to check on something."

"Did you go on a boat?" Julia asked then as she washed her arms last.

"I did, but really fast to make sure it was empty," Beckett said.

"Was it an old boat? Like Rebecca and David's?" Julia said interestedly.

"Yeah, is it?" Eliza asked, gasping a little.

Smiling as she knew how much the toddler loved boats, Beckett shook her head and told them, "No, actually it was a yacht, a smaller one."

"Alright, you two are done," Castle said, relieved as they couldn't really describe the boat in detail to the girls. "So go ahead and play." When the two started to color on the wall next to them he went to Beckett and made his wife stand up before sitting where she'd been.

"Rick," Beckett told him teasingly as he made her sit on his lap. She smiled as the girls looked over their shoulders to look at them and giggled seeing how they were. "They're watching you know," she then said hurriedly as his hand slid around her and up to her stomach.

"I'm aware, just getting comfortable," Castle quickly told her. He leaned against her a little as she then wrapped her arm around him and turned their attention to their daughters, slightly surprised to see the two were watching them. "So, you're done already?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"No! No, we're still playing!" Julia cried before turning to the wall again. "What do you want to do?" she asked, seeing that her sister had already gone back to coloring, making a large circle in dark green.

"Color," Eliza said simply. She then turned to Julia and tried to color on her arm, giggling when she tried to stop her by putting the tip of the crayon back to the wall.

"Stop Lizzy," Julia complained when Eliza did it again.

"No," the toddler said when her sister tried to put the crayon back to the wall. She splashed Julia and wasn't surprised when her mother quickly said her name. "Sorry," she told her.

"That's okay," Julia replied with a smile. "Want to draw horsies?" When Eliza nodded rapidly, she helped her do so until they had about five of them on the wall.

"Alright-" Beckett started to say then when they'd stopped and studied their artwork.

"Oh, not yet," Julia protested. "We didn't make trees and grass or the sun even." When her mother didn't reply, just looked at her and her father was just looking up at Beckett, she sighed and stood up. When she looked down at her sister, seeing she was sitting down with her arms crossed over her chest she glanced at her mother out of the corner of her eye, wondering how she would react.

"Elizabeth," Beckett said in a slightly warning tone as she stood against the side of the tub while Castle was helping Julia out and into her towel.

"No," Eliza said though she knew she needed to pay attention with the use of her full name. When her mother touched her arm she jerked aside and then gasped as she was picked up. "Mommy!" she whined before she burst into tears.

"She's tired," Castle said, going over to them then and taking Eliza and her towel since she was wrapped up in it. "You know you need to get some sleep," he murmured to her gently. "And you're not mad at your mommy are you?"

"No!" Eliza gasped, her tears falling still but not sobbing anymore as she looked at him. "Mommy," she said, trying not to cry again as she held her arms out to her.

"Shh, I know you would have listened to me," Beckett replied, pressing her lips to her temple gently. "But your daddy is right, you're definitely tired."

"You okay getting ready yourself?" Castle asked Julia who was nearly finished getting into her pajamas. When she nodded he said, "I'll get the bed ready Kate."

Nodding as he went out, Beckett got Eliza dried off and dressed before helping the two brush their teeth; though Julia didn't need her help. "Feel better?" she asked the toddler once they were walking out into the bedroom.

"Yeah," Eliza said before letting go of her mother's hand to run to her father. "Do you still go to school tomorrow?" she asked hopefully as he picked her up.

"Don't worry, I will," Castle said, kissing her forehead. He then took her to the bed where Julia was climbing up. "But you need to get some sleep," he told her.

"I know," Eliza replied with a sigh before she was wrapping her arms around her big sister's neck. "Love you Jules. Night?"

"Night Lizzy, I love you," Julia replied with a smile before they shared a kiss. She stayed on the bed, watching as their father helped Eliza lay down and smiled as the toddler sat back up.

"Too far Daddy," Eliza said before he could make her lay down again. She then threw her arms around his neck and said, "Love you Daddy."

"Love you too sweetheart, night," Castle replied before they shared a kiss. He pulled the covers up to her waist and tickled her side before helping Julia down so they could step back and let Beckett lean over to her.

"Well, I guess the only thing left to say is sleep tight," she told her youngest. "And of course, I love you Eliza."

"Love you too Mommy," the toddler said with a wide smile on her face. She shared a kiss with her before hugging her tightly around the neck before she lay down and watched as she tucked her in.

"Warm?" Beckett asked when she had finished. She smiled when Eliza pushed up the head of her stuffed horse to peek out and said, "Then goodnight sweetie." She leaned down and pressed her lips to her forehead before walking over to the door with Castle and Julia. They stood there until she could see the toddler was asleep; a short time later; and she turned off the lights as her husband slightly closed the door.

"Do I need to go to bed?" Julia asked once they were far enough away from her sister's room.

"No, you've got the usual half hour," Castle commented. "Love?"

"She does," Beckett replied. "So anything you want to do?"

Julia thought for a moment and then said, "Think I could play a game on my computer?"

"And us?" Castle asked as they turned from the stairs to go back to her room.

"Macca, come on boy," Julia said as the dog had started going down the stairs ahead of them. "You can play with me like you've done before," she told them.

"What game though?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"One of the hidden object ones… what about Huntsville?" Julia suggested once they were in her room and the door was closed so Eliza wouldn't hear them and wake up.

"Are you sure you don't want to be an investigator?" Castle asked, since that was a favorite of hers.

"I'm sure, I like it when it's a game, but not real," Julia said with a shrug.

"That's true," Castle said before he got the armchair that was on the other side of Julia's dresser and took it to the desk.

"And where am I supposed to sit?" Beckett asked as there were only two chairs and at that moment they were both taken. She gave a mock exasperated sigh when Castle took her hand but sat down on his lap when he pulled her to him.

Julia giggled as she watched her parents before she opened the game quickly. "Where do I go first?" she asked them as she wanted them to play too.

"Try the art museum," Castle said. "I'll take the graveyard."

"I guess I'll take the fire station," Beckett said. As Julia was busy looking through the scene for the list of objects she needed to get, she turned her attention to her husband and ran her hand over the back of his head.

Though Julia had to watch the timer above the list, she could see her parents as they began to whisper to each other and she had to wonder what they were saying. But she knew it was very likely that they were speaking in Irish, so she turned her attention to the list. When she'd gone as far as she could go, only leaving two items on the list, she looked at her father and said, "You can go now Daddy."

Beckett quickly stood to get out of his way and sitting back in the armchair she wrapped her arms around Julia as the little girl stood in front of her. "So how are things in your class?" she asked her.

"Pretty good," Julia said before she smiled as she then remembered something. "I was gonna tell you, something that Dawn said," she told her parents.

"What's that?" Castle asked, looking around the scene.

"She thinks you're cute Daddy," Julia told him.

"Oh she does," Beckett said, smiling at Castle's slight shock.

"Don't worry," Julia hurriedly said to her mother. "She thinks Peter is much cuter."

"Oh and you agree with her?" Castle asked.

"I…" Julia started to say before she trailed off and bit at her lower lip. "I think so."

"You either do or you don't," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of her hair. "And it's okay if you don't; just because Dawn thinks that doesn't mean you do too."

"I don't," Julia said quickly. "Dawn thinks he has pretty eyes but… I like yours better Daddy."

"Oh thank you very much," Castle said, turning to her with a wide smile on his face. "And you love?"

"My turn to play?" Beckett asked though she could see that her husband had put the game on pause.

"She thinks that too," Julia said quickly, smiling at her mother's teasing. "You know she thinks you're cute."

"Boy I hope so," Castle said before he put his hand on the small of her back, pulling her against him. He kissed her quickly on the lips and whispered to her, " _I need you_ Kate."

" _So do I_ ," Beckett replied, smiling though she could hear his desire in his words. "We should get this level done though; you know she still has to put the puzzle together at the end."

"True," Castle said quickly, letting her sit down.

"See? I told you she did, she had her special look on her face," Julia giggled. "And smile too."

"You're very observant," Beckett said jokingly, looking back at her.

"I have to be, I'm gonna be a writer…" Julia replied as she sat on her father's lap and leaned against him. "I hope."

"We'll help," Castle said, hugging her tightly before kissing her temple. They watched Beckett finish the level and he let Julia go to sit in front of the computer to get the puzzle put together before the next level's screen popped up. "So time for bed?" he asked his wife as she instructed their daughter to close the game.

"No, I didn't play for that long," Julia said, standing up as she turned off her computer. "So what now?"

"First I should brush your hair," Beckett told her before she waited for Julia to get it.

"So after we get her tucked in you want to do something?" Castle asked after he'd put the armchair back.

"Like what?" Beckett asked.

"Not that," Castle chuckled slightly at her slightly raised eyebrow. "Well… later," he said quickly before he saw Julia walk back out. "A game… movie?"

"We'll see when we're finished," Beckett said, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting for Julia to sit in front of her. She gently brushed out her hair before saying, "You're pretty quiet now sweetie. Okay?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking," Julia replied. When her father asked her about what she said, "I don't really think boys are cute."

"I didn't either when I was your age," Beckett said, looking back over her shoulder at Castle.

"Yeah, so will I?" Julia asked. "When I grow up?"

"We won't know until you do," Castle said then, though he was looking at his wife as he spoke.

"Oh…" Julia said before trailing off. She then smiled and said, "I forgot to say, Mari tried on a skirt today."

"She did?" Beckett asked, a little relieved that she had changed the subject. She and Castle had talked about what to say to their daughter when the subject of her not liking boys came up; though they hadn't thought they'd need to do that so soon.

"Yeah, she had a lot of fun," Julia replied with a wide smile. "And I taught her some steps too."

"I think she's trying to make Mari want to take lessons," Castle said wryly to his wife. He had moved to stand next to them and laughed when Julia playfully punched him on the side. "Okay, then you're just trying to show her what it's like."

"That's what I'm doing," Julia told him firmly. She then giggled and said, "She liked it, but said the Flamenco is hard."

"You're doing pretty well with it," Castle pointed out. "I bet you anything that you and Peter will get picked for the next competition to dance that."

"No betting," Beckett said quickly as she stood to take the brush and put it away.

"Okay, then I'm sure you'll be dancing that," Castle replied as he pulled down the covers on the bed to let the little girl climb under them though she sat up.

"Alright, time to go to bed," Beckett said. She smiled when Julia giggled at that and said, "And that means go to sleep."

"Don't worry, I will, but I'm so, so excited about playing with you at recess Daddy," Julia said as he sat on the edge of the bed looking at her.

"Me too, though I wish you were coming with us love," Castle said, looking up at her.

"You read better," Beckett said simply, though they'd talked about that before. "And we can play tomorrow when they come home okay?"

"Yeah, we can Daddy," Julia said eagerly, looking at him.

"Okay, then we have a play date set don't we?" Castle asked his wife with a smile.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "Go ahead and say goodnight to your daddy Julia."

Turning to him, the little girl wrapped her arms around him tightly and said, "I love you so much Daddy. I'm so happy you and Mommy are in love still."

"We've been fine all day," Castle assured her. "But I am too. And I love you too sweetheart." He shared a kiss with her before hugging her and then moved to let Beckett sit where he'd been.

"I think I'm going to take Macca for a run in the morning," she said, looking at first her husband and then their daughter. "So you and Eliza help your daddy with the breakfast okay?"

"We will," Julia said, sounding excited at that. "A special breakfast?"

"It will be," Castle said, since she'd been directing that question to him. He smiled as Julia hugged Beckett tightly and waited, watching them say their goodnights.

"Love you Mommy," Julia told her, whispering in her ear.

"I love you too sweetie," Beckett replied before they shared a kiss. "Sweet dreams."

"You too," Julia said, lying back before her mother tucked her in. She watched her parents go to the doorway and smiled when they stood with their arms around each other before she sighed and turned onto her side.

When they'd closed the door slightly behind them in their room, Beckett took her husband's hand and led him to their room where she closed and locked their door as he went to the fire. "I wonder if I should have closed this," she said, turning to him.

"You want some coffee?" Castle asked. When she nodded he made sure the fire was set before he then walked over to her and brushed his lips against hers asking, "Chess?"

"Maybe a couple of games," Beckett said with a smile before he walked out. She went to the windows then, looking out on the beach and watching the waves break over the sand for a moment before she turned, leaning against the glass. When her husband had come in and was able to close and lock the door she told him, "Stark contrast to last night."

"I thought we weren't supposed to be thinking about that?" Castle asked as she went over to the coffee table to meet him.

"Hard not to, I'll admit it," Beckett said, smiling at him before he leaned over and kissed her as they were facing each other across the table. When they'd sat down in the armchairs she said, "It might take Julia a little longer to forget about that fight."

"Yeah," Castle said slightly uncomfortably as he was taking the pieces out of the drawers on the sides of the board. "I'm just glad we didn't fight right in front of them."

"We manage to control ourselves… well, we don't fight like that all the time," Beckett said, putting her pieces on the board at the same time. "But are we agreed we're going to try our best not to do that in front of them?"

"Agreed," Castle said, raising his mug across the table to her to tap hers. After taking a drink, he waited for her to make the first move and then moved his pawn. He watched as they were able to both avoid getting any pieces captured until he was able to take a pawn of hers. "So…" he began to say before she was standing up and walking around to him. "You don't think it'd be easier to just have you sit on my lap through the game?" he asked as she sat down.

"I would have thought you enjoyed watching me walking up to you," Beckett replied.

"Very true," Castle said before he wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her deeply. When they had parted he watched her walk away and then said, "Well… you know this isn't too bad either."

"Pervert," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. Once she was sitting again they were moving their pieces and she smiled as she was able to capture one of his pawns next. She then told him, "Close your eyes."

"Why?" Castle asked as she stood up, watching her with wide eyes. When she merely stared at him, he breathed out and did as she'd asked, hearing her walking around. When she sat in his lap he jumped slightly as he felt her lips brushing against him and he opened them. "Sorry, can't help it," he apologized before kissing her deeply.

Beckett let that go, since she was enjoying the kiss immensely, until they finally parted and she smiled saying, "I forgive you but watch you don't do that again." She rolled her eyes when he gave a deep nod of his head and she kissed his lips before going back to her seat so they could continue the game.

"You know what I just realized?" Castle asked his wife as he moved a knight.

"What?" Beckett said as she studied the board for her move. She soon found it and quickly moved her pawn to take his knight. She smiled when she saw her husband looking up at her in slight shock and she told him, "Pay attention Rick."

"I guess I should," Castle said, nodding as he watched her come over to him. He took her in his arms before she was sitting on his lap, kissing her deeply the second their lips met. He wasn't surprised when her tongue slipped into his mouth hurriedly and he groaned slightly as they rolled around one another until finally they had to stop and part. "Just stay here," he said in a slightly complaining tone as she stood up.

"Sorry but you know in the end the game would be forgotten," Beckett said, sitting back in her armchair though she hadn't wanted to leave him herself. "Or in that one case upended."

"Oh yeah… how did we not get any of the pieces in the fire?" Castle asked, glancing up at it briefly before he looked back down at the board.

"Beats me, but luckily you picked it up just before the girls came in," Beckett said, watching him move. She did then and they each made a few more before he was taking her queen. "I'm pretty sure how this is going to end," she commented as she stood and then walked over to him.

"You've won before," Castle pointed out quickly. She was sitting down on him again by then, so he didn't give her a chance to respond, taking her lips. That time they were a little rougher with each other and he knew that they weren't going to be able to last much longer. So he let her go back to her chair without a word, watching her as she sat. He watched her move and was a little surprised that it was a good one; having been hoping in the back of his mind that she'd throw the game to let them get to bed. He then studied the board for a time, and made a move, narrowing in on her king.

Watching him, Beckett knew that she was stuck and she made a move with her bishop that didn't really do anything. As he took her king and called out checkmate, she smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you love," Castle said, standing up hurriedly as she was doing so. He followed her as she stepped towards the bed but was surprised when she put her hand on his chest to stop him. "Now what?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound as frustrated as he felt.

"Pick up the game," Beckett said with a smile. "And I'll be out in a second."

Watching her, Castle remembered what they'd talked about earlier and he whirled back around to the coffee table. He tried not to throw the pieces back into the drawers but it was difficult at first before he suddenly stopped. He had no idea how he was able to calm down but all of a sudden he knew what he wanted that night with his wife, so he was able to put away the rest of the pieces calmly.

When she stepped out of the bathroom several minutes later, Beckett was a little surprised to find her husband was looking out the windows. She had been sure that he would be waiting at the door for her, or close to it, so to see him looking composed was startling. "Rick?" she asked, looking at him questioningly.

Turning, Castle looked his wife up and down, taking in her form that was barefoot and clad in her robe. "Hey," he said, walking up to her. He wasn't surprised to see her slightly taken aback expression at that and he was quick to take advantage of it, leaning down and kissing her as hard as he possibly could while his fingers threaded through her hair on the back of her head.

Beckett was a little startled but she was soon able to tell what he wanted with that and she was quick to return the kiss before he pulled away from her, looking into her eyes. "Here," she said, not surprised her voice was a little huskier than it normally was as she placed the end of the robe's tie into his hand.

Castle didn't hesitate, simply tugged at the gray fabric until it had come lose, revealing that she was wearing her negligee she'd taken to Canada underneath. He nearly sucked in a breath of air before he grabbed her hand, dragging her almost over to the mirror that they were near. He kissed her again once they were in front of it, dipping his tongue into her mouth once before he moved away from her. " _Are you going to let me_?" he asked her, looking intently into her eyes.

"I, yes," Beckett said, nearly hesitating before she got a hold of herself and gave a quick nod as well. She wasn't surprised when he turned her around and she looked at their reflection as he pressed his hands gently to her abdomen. Her eyes closed as he started to press his lips to her shoulders and she reached back to him as he drifted up to her neck.

"You're mine aren't you love?" Castle nearly growled to her as he looked up at the mirror too then.

"Yes," Beckett sighed while his hands were drifting slowly up and down her front.

"Tell me Kate," Castle commanded.

Though she knew that normally she would have smiled at his tone, since it was only when they were intimate that he was so commanding, Beckett merely replied, "I'm yours Rick… now just, hurry."

Castle only response to that was to tell her, "I'm yours too Kate," before he reached down to the edge of her negligee and while he was kissing her shoulders; so he could see; first his right hand and then his left slipped up underneath her lingerie. He brushed his fingertips along her thighs, feeling the silky and warm skin there, shuddering against her before he went up higher to the apex of her legs.

Beckett couldn't stop the slight moan that escaped her mouth at the feel of him touching her mound above her clit. His fingertips were very warm and she shut her eyes to better enjoy it before he was suddenly moving them away. She was quick to recover, as the feeling of him trying to get her robe off helped her do so. She assisted him with it and once her robe was discarded she turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was a little surprised when he responded; having thought he'd want to do something else instead. But he was kissing her back as passionately, so she lost herself in the duel of their tongues until she slowly pulled away. Brushing her lips to his lower one she smiled and said, "I don't know what you have planned, but…"

Smiling as he watched her start to unbutton his shirt, Castle was quick to pull it from his pants as he told her, "I was going to wait to do this. But you know, I think I don't mind doing it now."

"I didn't think you would," Beckett said once the last button had been undone. As he tossed the shirt aside to her robe she was placing her hands on his chest, running them down until he hugged her against him. "You need to keep playing polo," she told him, looking up into his eyes and biting her lower lip once she'd spoken.

"I will," Castle said. He then smirked and said, "You're hot for me my love?"

At first Beckett was going to deny that but then she leaned up to him, nipping at his lower lip and whispered, "So hot…" as she took his hand. She led it under her negligee and to the junction of her legs where she could see in his eyes when exactly he felt how slick her folds had become.

"Then I need you to be on fire," Castle said after he fingered her for a moment. He picked her up to her cry of surprise and took a few steps until he could lay her on the middle of the bed.

"How are you going to do that?" Beckett asked, her arms above her head as he joined her. "We're still dressed."

"Halfway," Castle corrected her. He then sat up on his knees, undoing the fly of his pants and making sure his wife could see since he knew she was watching. He had to get back off the bed to get the last of his clothes off but once they were with their little pile he was back with her, lying against her body. "Better?" he asked before he kissed her and ended up cutting off any kind of reply.

"Yes, but m-" Beckett started to say before she was kissed again. She took it until he pulled away and she held his face in her hands saying, "What about me?"

"I'll get there," Castle replied simply. He turned his head a little, kissing at her palm before he leaned down to her upper chest. Kissing around her pendant he then went lower and was about to brush his lips over the slight swell her right breast made when he was suddenly being pushed up. He looked at his wife in surprise when he realized they were both sitting up and said, "No?"

Merely smiling at him, Beckett reached up to him and drew him down to her chest, watching as he pressed his lips to the top of her right breast and shivering at the heat of his kisses. When he then moved to her other and did the same she became suddenly impatient and she pushed him carefully away until she had enough room to pull down the straps of the negligee and pushed it down to her waist.

"You make your point clear love," Castle said, smiling at her. He nearly smiled again when she looked a little surprised at his reaction but he was busy bowing his head then so he didn't bother to try. He leaned his head down enough to reach her right nipple first but instead of taking it he was kissing around her areola, shuddering when she lightly cried out. He had to feel a rush at the sound as he hadn't really thought her to be that sensitive, so to know he could elicit that reaction was exhilarating. He did the same to her other breast and then finally gave in to what he wanted to do badly. Reaching up he cupped her mounds in both hands, lightly flicking her nipples as he watched her, waiting for her to protest. But when she only leaned back to push her chest out slightly he was completely thrilled and he leaned over, kissing at her exposed neck.

Beckett was a little surprised to feel the joy in his lips and she had to wonder why it was that having her so simply could make him so happy. It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed her mind but she decided it wasn't the right time to ask, especially since at that moment he was making her lay back down again after getting her negligee off of her. A slight hiss of pleasure escaped her lips as he captured her nipple with his mouth and she lightly dug her nails into his scalp as he proceeded to suckle. She was writhing a little underneath him in response to his mouth and tongue working together and she wasn't sure if she wanted more or for him to just continue adding to the warmth rushing through her. But her husband decided that for her after he'd taken her left breast, moving away and starting to kiss his way wildly over her body in a downward direction as she held onto the sides of the pillow propping her up while she watched him.

The sound of his lips kissing her as he went back and forth across her abdomen was the only sound in the room, besides Beckett's moans, and Castle breathed in and out when he reached her mound, pulling away then. He could see his wife was looking at him in a little annoyance at that but he didn't respond as he was then carefully making her part her legs. That done he lay in between them and started to kiss around her inner thighs but that time he was very careful to only brush his lips against her skin. He could feel it lightly trembling in response and he was quick to go all the way down to her knees before going up. He was enjoying taking his time but he wasn't all that surprised when she reached down and nearly dug her nails into his shoulders before he pushed himself up enough to look at her. "What is it?" he asked her though he already knew what her answer would be.

"I think that's enough," Beckett said. "Either lick my pussy or get up here." She took some satisfaction when he nearly jumped, looking at her with wide eyes at her words, but she was too frustrated to do that. " _Now_ Rick," her tone forceful.

That seemed to shake Castle and he was quick to move, lying nearly on top of her. "This is what you want?" he asked as he moved so his erection was parallel to her entrance. Before she could speak he gave a quick thrust, making her moan heavily in pleasure and he leaned down, kissing her deeply as he began to move.

Beckett took as much of that as she could before she made him stop and together they seemed to agree that they'd had enough of foreplay without saying a word. They were reaching in between their bodies and together they were sliding him enough inside of her for her to lay back on the bed with a moan. She closed her eyes tightly as he moved the rest of the way to sheath himself within her, a firm, fluid thrust that made her literally see stars in the black in front of her. Her eyes then abruptly flew open as she could feel her husband draping her calves over his arms and she looked up at him as she knew the position from their book. She braced herself and then let out a heavy cry as he thrust the first time. He was deep and she reached down to his hands to hold onto him there since that was the only place she could reach. He was quickly finding his rhythm so she had to follow though it wasn't a problem for her, enjoying the feel of him going faster. That fire he'd wanted to ignite in her was still there, being added to endlessly every time he moved and spread through her whole body so much so that she wasn't sure how she was feeling anything else but that. "Oh… Rick… I can't… please," she begged him.

"Too much?" Castle asked, though he hoped that wasn't the case as he was enjoying himself greatly. Luckily she shook her head and he was able to figure out what she was begging for so he hurriedly moved them both. He pulled away from her and made her turn, leaning on her knees against the headboard before he was back inside of her on his knees as well. "Haven't had you like this in so long love," he said, unsure how he was able to keep from stammering with the way they were moving together. The friction was rough and it sent shocks of pleasure all through his member and up into his body, making him tighten his hand on her abdomen a little more, wanting to be much closer to her already. He then leaned over and whispering her name, took her lips as soon as she had turned her head back towards him.

Beckett was holding onto the edge of the headboard with her left hand and reached with her right arm behind her to wind it around her husband's neck. It let her lean back better as they eventually slid into a second and third kiss. Once they'd finally parted she was breathing hard and she smiled for a brief moment as they were looking at each other. "You prefer me… like this," she stated instead of asking. When she felt her husband nodding rapidly against her she smiled and kissed him again but a lot less intensely than before. She took her time as she explored his mouth until he was fighting against her, both of them soon losing their self control and kissing passionately. Her skin was starting to literally tingle as he was reaching up from the headboard to cup her breasts. She leaned further back against him again, her eyes tightly closed as he began stroking the mounds. "You don't want me another… another way?" she asked, stammering slightly as she wasn't immune to his touch.

"How?" Castle asked simply. When she reached back and had him stop, he moved away as she lay down in the middle of the bed again. He was quick to lie down on top of her and he watched her spreading her legs before bending her knees. The second her feet were flat on the back of his calves he was slamming into her body and was thrusting as fast as he could. It was as soon as he'd set his rhythm that he realized they hadn't spent much time against the headboard. But the thought was gone from his mind almost immediately as he could feel her muscles starting to work around his member and he was breathing out, her name intense on his lips.

Reaching up to her husband as the position allowed him to get close to her; Beckett slid her hands over the back of his neck and held onto him there until he bent his head to reach her lips. She managed to instigate their kiss a second before he could and as soon as she had she was drawing his tongue back inside of her mouth before they embroiled in a fight, trying to see who could overpower the other first though it ended up being largely a draw. When they parted she watched him lower his head further and she arched her neck up and back to give him access to it until she felt him beginning to nibble at her pulse. She sucked in a deep breath as he went harder and harder, until she knew he'd likely deepened her bruise that was already there. "Wait, stop," she breathed when it was starting to be too much. She was surprised when he immediately did so but that faded when he went straight down to her breasts. She looked down, watching him brushing his lips over them both, going back and forth a number of times until she pushed slightly on the back of his head.

Suckling at her right breast as soon as he took her nipple, Castle was quick to move carefully, gently, as he wanted her to have a contrast, knowing that she would feel it. He was proved right when Beckett started to almost immediately moan, clutching at the back of his head to hold him in place. She was still working herself around him and he had to throw himself into stimulating her to try and keep from losing his self control as what she was doing was more than arousing, it was leading him to his climax too swiftly. He switched between each mound, reaching up with his right hand eventually, making sure he was fondling the one that he wasn't on. But once he'd spent a good deal of time on her he slid his lips down to her scar, pressing a kiss to it before he moved back up, and as he crushed her lips with his own he stopped moving; that a complete shock to his senses.

"No… Rick," Beckett protested as she parted with him almost as soon as he'd done that. "I'm close," she said, shifting and trying to move to feel him again in any way she could.

"So am I love… we're too close," Castle said as he watched her. But finally he couldn't take watching her move and feeling their skin brushing against each other and started to thrust again. He was breathing heavily almost instantly but that didn't stop him from brushing his lips against his wife's. Hers quirked up slightly and they were gently caressing each other before he gave in to temptation, nibbling her lower lip into his mouth before he sucked gently on it. He wasn't sure what it was that set his wife off but he felt when she was and saw the second her climax struck her.

Beckett was grasping on to Castle's shoulders as hard as she could and in her ecstasy she was holding onto him so tightly that her knuckles were nearly white. She was crying out his name repeatedly, writhing before she felt her husband moving a little frantically, her name on his lips. She was leaning her head back, her eyes closed tightly while she felt the extent of his pleasure and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to stop as the waves seemed to continue. It felt so good that she was disappointed when her body finally stopped and she sighed deeply as Castle was thrusting into her rapidly a few more times before he seemed to collapse on her. She smiled as he pressed his cheek to hers and sighed saying, "Hmm."

"That's all you can say?" Castle asked, raising his head to look at her. When she merely smiled at him he grit his teeth before it relaxed into a smile. At her surprised look he said, "It was a lot more than that, the way you were moving… saying my name."

Rolling her eyes, Beckett playfully pushed on his shoulders, watching him pull away before he was lying down on his side next to her. She was smiling and she reached over to him, cupping his cheek in her hand before he took it and drew it down to his lips. After he'd kissed her palm she reached up, brushing some strands of hair that were on his forehead. "You know what?" she asked him as she pressed close against him.

Their lips brushed against each other as Castle murmured, "What love?"

"You enjoyed that," Beckett replied. When he started to glare at her, she smiled and added, "Earlier when you were trying to control me."

"Of course I did, it's only when we're like this that I can," Castle said before he moved to lie on his back as she was sitting up. When she straddled him he spanned the small of her back with his hands and said, "You didn't?"

"It's amusing-" Beckett began to say.

"Amusing?" Castle interrupted as soon as she said that.

Smiling again, Beckett continued by simply saying, "Amusing, because I always thought you would have some kind of hesitation doing that."

"I can be a man… at times…" Castle said before he trailed off when she glanced down at him and he hissed at her hand curling around his length. "Ah, when you want me to I can be."

"Of course," Beckett replied with a kind of smirk on her face. She then let him go; hearing him groan in frustration before she leaned over a little and she began to stroke at his chest. She wasn't surprised when he reached up and held onto her wrists and she then focused on touching him, running her fingertips gently over his skin. She smiled up at him as she met his gaze and then scooted down him a little until she was reaching his abdomen. She turned her attention back down to her hands and there continued her pattern of caressing him until she reached for his erection. She wasn't surprised to find him fully aroused, as she had been able to feel him becoming so as she'd touched him. She then had a quick idea run through her head and moved up until she held his length against her.

"Kate, what are you-" Castle said before he cut himself off by hissing when she started to move against him. He could feel her clit against his skin and he held onto her hips as tightly as he could as he started to thrust with her. He wasn't sure how long they both let that go on but finally he made her let go of him and he helped her rise up above him.

As she slid down on him, Beckett was covering his hands on her hips until their skin was meeting. She didn't waste any time, rolling her hips carefully a few times before she used her knees for leverage to allow her to move up and down. She breathed heavily after a few passes, closing her eyes as her husband was stroking the small of her back. She nibbled her lower lip a few times as he worked to reach her speed and then moved her legs once she was sure he was set and hooked them over his. She then began to angle her hips down and that allowed her to brush her clit against his skin. She let out a gasp at the first touch and looked up at her husband, seeing that he was watching her. His eyes were nearly black and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to really keep control as at the same time his hands were clutching her in such a way that she knew he was debating whether or not he should take over. She finally leaned down and took his lips and though since she couldn't stay bent over that long the kiss was quick she still enjoyed it.

As he was watching Beckett sitting up, Castle couldn't take it any longer and he grabbed her before flipping her around onto her back. Once there he started to thrust in her, as fast as he could while at the same time they were kissing hungrily. He felt her nails over his back, raking the skin repeatedly until she was pulling back and he seemed to sense what she wanted with that. Below her once he had managed to get her back on top Castle stayed up and he kissed her, running his hands around her breasts and stroking at her nipples while they were busy trying to again fight with their tongues. "Needed this," he whispered to her when they parted to breathe.

"Me too," Beckett replied with a smile that lasted for a second before he was moving her back again to the mattress. She wrapped her legs tightly around him and matched his speed as fast as she could as she had no idea how long they'd be staying that way. With the intensity that Castle was moving within her she could feel the spark of pleasure; constant; from the friction between them spreading around her body. Her skin was hot to the touch and as her husband was pressing his lips against her neck and breasts it was as if she was feeling a shock of cooler temperature; though he was warm as well. She was distracted when he then turned them around again and she held him as close against her as she could as she took over thrusting. She closed her eyes tightly as he pressed the small of her back to bring them nearer and she leaned down finding his lips without having to look.

Responding to the kiss, Castle wasn't really surprised that they didn't last before they were parting for air. And he still wasn't when they kissed a few more times, very rapidly. He pulled away from her and whispered, "I should keep you like this," having to breathe in between a few words.

"No, lay me down and fuck me now Rick," Beckett said, panting deeply. She moved with him but he suddenly pulled away from her and she had a second to realize what he wanted before he was making her turn around. "I should-" she started to say before she moaned as he thrust into her. She bit her lower lip hard as it took little time for them to work up to their rhythm and she leaned over the headboard, not surprised when he moved as well, knowing he was taking her invitation to see if he could find her g-spot in that position. Since he'd done that to her while she was on her hands and knees, she was able to move her hips until finally he brushed against it. She clutched at the headboard and cried out, "You're going to make me come!"

Though he didn't want to, Castle moved away from her, trying not to curse at the near pain that caused while he watched her lay down on her back. He tucked some pillows underneath her hips and said, "Touch yourself love."

Looking at him in shock, Beckett was going to protest that but then decided she could make it work to her advantage and she asked in a huskier tone of voice, "Can I come?"

"Please," Castle said, his body tense as he looked on while her fingers were sliding down her stomach. He loved the way she jerked against the touch of her fingertips against her own clit but then was drawn to the way she was moving against her own hand so quickly. There was a part of him that thought he should help her but he was too focused on the way she moved, writhing for a moment before he could tell by the way she was pressing herself back on the bed that she was about to climax. He reached over to her hand that was holding onto her thigh, entwining their fingers together tightly an instant before she was crying out. He wasn't surprised to feel her gripping on his hand while he watched her thrusting her hips up and down frantically a few times before she started to slow down.

Beckett was trying to recover shortly after but she was suddenly gasping as she felt her husband entering her again. It was slow and careful and when he started to thrust she lost her uncertainty of being able to feel any more pleasure again as it was quick to start up. She kissed her husband deeply then in the rush of joy at knowing that the years hadn't dimmed her need for him. At the same time she was moving with him, in time with him as their hips nearly crashed together. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and she lost no time in beating her heels into his ass, making sure he knew their pace and wouldn't lose it. She wasn't too surprised when his hand was suddenly scrambling in between them and was touching her clit. She had expected that as she knew that he must have been pushed to the edge himself watching her. She let everything take over then, closing her eyes to better help her and it was then she felt her orgasm rushing over her.

Castle, feeling her losing control around him, was moving harder and faster until he was quick to join her. It was with a great sense of relief that he did, having been holding himself back constantly to make sure she would be with him when he lost his self control. He kept moving, not sure why he wasn't slowing down yet but when he heard Beckett crying out his name repeatedly he knew why that was. It had been too much holding back and he could feel it in his second peak as he was pressing his face against his wife's neck as he called her name into her skin. He kept thrusting roughly against her until finally he found himself slowing down with a few rough thrusts and then collapsing nearly on top of her as he'd done before. He wondered if he should apologize to her but when she began to stroke his hair he knew she had enjoyed that. He raised his head and then pressed his forehead to hers before telling her, "I still have a really hard time resisting you."

"I was thinking that too," Beckett replied with a smile before he was carefully withdrawing from her. She sighed a little but knew they needed to sleep and she was smiling again as she thought of the next day.

"What?" Castle asked as he grabbed the covers that were at the other end of the bed to pull over them both.

"I was thinking about tomorrow," Beckett replied as he stayed above her once they were covered. "And you at the school, I wish I could see that."

"Me too," Castle said, nodding his head. "But I know Eliza will tell you all about it."

"And Julia will let me know about you at recess," Beckett replied. "If they get you to play four square or dodge ball, I beg you don't be too rough with them."

"Like I would do that to our daughters," Castle scoffed. "Though I wonder that kid that was bugging Julia-"

"Castle," Beckett said immediately.

"Just kidding," Castle said hurriedly as he knew with her tone she didn't like him joking about that. He laid down with her then and held her against his side before saying, "You're really going to run?"

Raising her head, Beckett tried to look out the window to ascertain the weather but when she couldn't see she simply climbed over her husband and went to peer out. "If it's not snowing tomorrow, then yes," she said.

"It stopped?" Castle asked, sitting up and watching her go to the fire to turn it off. He kept looking at her as she walked up to the bed, unabashedly admiring her naked body. "You know, I thought about something," he said.

"You think about a lot of things," Beckett replied with a smile. "What's this one?"

"I don't know where I saw it but online there was a photograph… no, it was at the gallery we went to two weeks ago," Castle said, remembering then. "That picture of the woman with the writing on her back."

"Oh, the one with the dripping ink," Beckett said as she pulled the covers over her lap. When her husband nodded she said, "You want to take a picture of me like that?"

"Not exactly, I'd like to just write on your body," Castle replied.

"Like what?" Beckett said, looking at him closely.

"Well, you know our rings?" Castle said.

" _Prem_?" Beckett queried. When he nodded she thought for a moment and said, "In Hindi text?" At his second quick nod she smiled a little and said, "That would be nice, but what about henna?"

"Henna… I hadn't thought about that," Castle said musingly as she leaned over and pressed a line of kisses along his jaw. He then realized what she was doing and he looked at her saying, "That got you excited?"

"A little, that and the look on your face just now," Beckett replied. "You'd want to mark me?"

"I would," Castle said seriously. He then had her lay down and traced a line from left to right with his finger between her hip and navel, closer to her hip. "Right here, small," he told her.

"It wouldn't last that long," Beckett told him in a kind of warning.

"It would be enough to actually go through the process," Castle replied. "Damn, now I wish that knew how to make elaborate designs like they do in India."

"I don't," Beckett said. When her husband looked at her in surprise she told him, "I'd be covered from head to toe, especially my breasts."

"No, just your hands and feet," Castle said, serious again.

Beckett was a little taken aback by that but she smiled and said, "Not even my breasts?"

"Oh, now you want me to do that," Castle teased her. When she smiled and laughed a little he leaned over and kissed her, keeping quick though it was no less meaningful. He then jumped slightly when she touched his skin, in almost the exact same spot, just on the opposite side. "You want to put that on me?" he asked in slight surprise.

"I would and when we make love right after it's dry…" Beckett said.

"You've become very spiritual," Castle said. "Believe me when I say that's a great thing."

"I took it as such," Beckett replied with a smile. "And so you know, you better find a kit for us to do that."

"I'll look into it tomorrow," Castle said with a firm nod. He then looked down at himself and said, "I don't know, how do you think I'd look with that on me?"

"Good," Beckett said simply before she sat up and wrapped both her arms around him. She kissed his cheek and pressed her face to it saying, "You ever think of getting a tattoo?"

"Not really, so okay I'll look for a kit," Castle said as he knew she'd told him that to get him to decide on the henna. "You're a great manipulator," he teased her then.

"I have to be," Beckett replied. "To keep you in line?"

"Ah, but turnabout's fair play, I know how to keep you in line," Castle said, looking into her eyes.

Beckett would have responded to that jokingly but the expression on her husband's face kept her from doing that. She could only allow him to lay her down and she took his kiss, knowing that he could feel with that that she'd been serious. When they parted she whispered, "For your birthday."

Castle was a little startled at that, but then realized what she was talking about. "You really want to do that for my birthday?" At her nod he smiled and leaned down to kiss her again, much quicker, before he was pressing his forehead against hers. " _You realize that I love you, I won't be able to stop loving you_ Kate _. You are my goddess and the one thing I absolutely worship. Let me have that for my birthday; you, for hours_ ," he told her as he pulled back enough to stare into her eyes intently.

Beckett was biting her lower lip at his sincerity and it took her a moment to reply to that as she kissed him to give her a chance to think. When they had parted she smiled at him and murmured, " _I love you too_ Rick _, but you know I wouldn't just let you have that only for your birthday. I'm going to need to feel that worship you want to give me much more than that_ …" She then smiled and said, "A lot more than just that."

"Oh don't worry, I was planning it," Castle assured her.

"And so you know, I'm going to want to worship you too," Beckett said with a smile.

"How long until my birthday?" Castle asked.

Beckett laughed softly before she leaned up a little and kissed him, not surprised when he responded immediately. She pulled on him as his tongue was slipping past her parted lips, taking him inside her body while he was quick to move to do so at her unspoken command. "We can start now," she whispered to him before they began to kiss.

"We will," Castle told her seriously as he made love to her as carefully as he could.

The two became so wrapped up in each other, that they nearly thought they were getting a jump start on their idea of spending their time worshiping one another. But they knew as they came down from their mutual high in that bout and lay pressed close together under the covers they would have many more chances to do that. And though they were exhausted from their exertions that night, they found they couldn't wait to explore all they could do with their desire for each other yet again.


	9. Out The Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is the title of a song by John Lennon, from his album Mind Games.

"Rick?"

"Hmm?" Castle asked, opening his eyes to see that his wife was above him. "Why are you up?" he then said as he noticed it was still dark.

"Because," Beckett told him simply before she leaned down and crushed her lips to his. She wasn't surprised when he responded quickly and was swift to stroke his face with her hands a few times before she slowly pulled away. She ran her thumb over his lower lip when he looked at her with a startled expression on his face. "I need you."

"Yeah… me too," Castle said, coming back to himself. He got up then and helped her lay down in the middle of the bed before he nestled himself in between her legs. "Love," he said, startled again as he felt her grasping his ass.

"We need to do this fast," Beckett told him seriously.

Castle knew she was giving him a chance to protest but his only response was to start moving. As she was requesting a quickie he was immediately thrusting fast and he groaned as she moaned heavily since the reaction to the feel of them moving together was strong. He leaned down to kiss her and felt her legs wrapping around his waist, sliding up as high as they could go. He broke off the kiss and stared into her eyes but it was very brief as she was closing hers and tilted her head back.

As her husband was peppering her neck with kisses, Beckett held Castle to her by the backs of his shoulders before her hand snaked up to the back of his head. She stroked his hair and she bit her lower lip as her husband proceeded to speed up even more. She wasn't too surprised when he went to her breasts and brushed his lips against both before he went back to her lips. Already things were building up and she moaned deeply as he was driving down into her. She was moving with him and was slightly surprised to find herself able to match his pace; a little difficult since the position she was in didn't afford her much space to move. But she used everything she could to help her.

The two kissed passionately and repeatedly as they didn't stop moving together and it was a short time after they'd begun that they were clinging to one another, crying out and groaning to each other. When their pleasure had ended they suddenly stopped, slumping on the bed before they were kissing again.

"I don't know if I should love or hate those," Beckett commented as she was caressing her husband's shoulders.

"I'm thinking the same thing," Castle agreed. "But you want to go don't you?" he asked as she was starting to shift slightly underneath him.

"I do but I was serious about needing that," Beckett told him as he got off of her. She sat up and leaned over, kissing him on the lips and lingering for as long as she could before they parted. "Thank you."

"Really?" Castle asked with a smile on his face.

"Well, I feel I should since it was that fast," Beckett told him. She pecked him on the lips before getting up and staring at him as she walked around the bed.

"You're not helping," Castle said, narrowing his eyes though he wasn't looking away from her.

"That's my intention," Beckett replied before she went behind him and out of his sight. She smiled when she could hear him flop down on the bed with an exasperated groan and turned her attention to getting dressed. When she was finished she brushed her hair quickly before putting it up into a ponytail and going back to the bed. "Hey, I thought you'd be asleep," she commented when she saw that he was still awake, his hands under his head.

"Not feeling tired," Castle said, glancing up at her.

Leaning one knee on the mattress, Beckett bent over him and kissed him gently before saying, "I'll see you later love."

"See you love," Castle replied before he initiated another kiss, making that one last longer than the first before he pulled away from her. Watching her walk out he lay back down and sighed before covering himself and closing his eyes to try to fall asleep. Though he was still feeling Beckett as he had been while fucking her, he was soon nodding off, not even realizing it as he contemplated his wife going out to the beach.

"Come on Macca," Beckett said, putting her jacket on as he looked up at her. She picked up his leash she'd already put on him and then walked out into the backyard to head down to the beach. Once they were on the sand; which was luckily clear of snow; she started to run, calling to the dog so he would join her.

The morning was cold but very quickly Beckett became warm and she slowed down since she knew Macca wasn't going to be able to keep up with her the whole way. She patted the puppy's head as he nudged her palm with his nose before asking him, "Think we can jog?" At his woof she smiled and then began to do so, watching to make sure he followed her as they continued down the beach as the sky grew lighter in front of them.

Castle jumped a bit when the alarm on his phone went off and he sat up, turning to quickly grab it and turn it off. He ran over to the door when he realized he hadn't paid attention to hear if Beckett had locked it. He nearly skidded to a stop when he saw that it was, breathing out before he went to the closet to get dressed. He went as fast as he could since he was going to need to help Eliza get ready and then start breakfast. Luckily it didn't take much time and he was stepping out into the hall before he went to Julia's room first.

Feeling something stroking her forehead, the little girl opened her eyes and then looked up to see it was her father. "Morning Daddy," she yawned. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes before saying, "Did Mommy go on her run?"

"She did," Castle said with a smile, leaning down and kissing her forehead before he smoothed her hair down. "I need to get your sister up. Are you okay to get ready on your own?"

"Yep," Julia said before she twined her arms around his neck. "What's gonna be the special breakfast?"

"We'll have to see, we should talk to Eliza about it," Castle told her.

"Okay, then go hurry so we can start before she comes back," Julia said quickly.

Smiling at her exuberance, Castle shared a kiss with her before he left and went to his youngest daughter's room. He wasn't surprised to see her still asleep and he carefully took the net off the side of her bed before he leaned over to wake her up by kissing the top of her head. "Morning sweetheart," he said, smiling as the toddler's eyes blinked open slowly.

Eliza smiled sleepily at her father and then yawned saying, "Mommy?"

"She went running with Macca but don't worry, she'll come back," Castle assured her, sitting up when she did. "She has to since you, me and your sister are going to be making her a very special breakfast."

"We do?" Eliza asked.

"We will," Castle corrected her with a smile. "But first, you need to get ready for school."

"When do you go Daddy?" Eliza said before he had finished speaking completely.

"Today," Castle said. When she squealed and then threw herself at him he laughed and said, "Ready to get dressed?" At her nod he took her on his hip and then carried her to the closet where he let her pick out a sweater.

"Is she ready?" Julia asked as she came in a while later, finished except for her hair.

"Almost," Castle said, by then brushing the toddler's sleep mussed locks. "Do you have yours?" he asked her.

"Yep, can you make a French braid?" Julia said. "Or will it take too long?"

"Not really, come here," Castle said, setting aside Eliza's brush since he'd finished with her hair. He started to brush Julia's once she was sitting in front of him and did so as quickly as he could without hurting her.

Watching as their father braided her hair tightly, Eliza asked Julia, "Breakfast?"

"Hold on girls," Castle said with a smile. "We need to get downstairs and see what we can do… which we can now," he added since he'd finished the braid. He had Julia put away her brush and then carried Eliza down before the little girl joined him on the stairs.

"We always make pancakes, that's not special," Julia said with a frown as she and her little sister were on either side of their father looking at the pantry.

"Well I'm not sure if something with eggs is that special either," Castle said. "But look, we have some waffle mix still and a lot of fruit too."

"Then are we having waffles?" Julia asked, peering up at him.

"What do you think? Both of you?" Castle asked as he looked down at them.

"I want that," Eliza said firmly. "And Mommy will like it."

"She's right and we like it too," Julia said seriously.

"Then grab the mix for me Eliza; Julia help her," Castle told them. "And I'll get the waffle maker."

Hurrying to help her little sister take the box of mix to him, Julia said, "Are you gonna make anything else?"

"I don't know yet," Castle replied as he plugged in the machine and took the box from Eliza. "Thank you sweetheart. Do you think I should?"

"Well, we have whipped cream," Julia replied, rushing to the fridge and opening the door. "And strawberries, we could put that onto the waffle and then have some bacon?"

"Now you're picking what I'll like," Castle said with a smile as he watched her reach into the drawer where the package of bacon was. "And I think that's a great idea, I'll get to that right now."

"What do we do?" Eliza then asked as she watched her father mix the batter.

"Set the table of course," Castle replied. "Can you get the plates and put them here?" he asked Julia, pouring the batter onto the bottom of the maker.

Hurrying to get them, Julia placed the four plates next to her father and then without him saying, got forks and napkins. She rushed to the table and was putting everything at their places when she heard the sound of nails on the wood floor down the hall.

"Mommy!" Eliza shrieked before she started to run to the door to the backyard.

"Calm down Eliza," Beckett said, smiling as the toddler ran around Macca to throw her arms around her waist. "Good morning."

"Morning Mommy, making breakfast," Eliza told her as she pulled back to look up at her.

"I thought you were, it smells pretty nice," Beckett replied as she leaned over to Macca and removed his leash. She smiled as he hurried to the garage and she took Eliza's hand, nearly running into Julia who was coming to them. "Morning Julia, how come you weren't with your sister?" she asked as she paused so she could hug her oldest.

"I was finishing setting the table," Julia replied with a smile. "Come and see what Daddy's making, we all picked it."

"Hey love," Castle said as he looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw it was his wife and their daughters. "How was it?"

"Very cold," Beckett replied, walking over to him before wrapping her arm around his neck and kissing him. "But at least I was able to keep warm."

"Daddy, breakfast!" Eliza said, stomping her slipper covered foot.

"Oh, right," Castle said with a laugh as Beckett tried to hide hers in his shoulder. "We weren't really sure what we could make that would be different but then we noticed the waffle mix and we decided that would be nice."

"Did they think the same?" Beckett asked with a smile as she looked down at the girls.

"We did," Julia said with a giggle.

"Okay, well, I hate to leave you to the waffles… and bacon," Beckett said, glancing at the stove and seeing the package next to it. "Please don't put those in the waffles."

"Wasn't planning on it," Castle quickly said.

"But you were thinking about it," Beckett pointed out.

"Okay, I might have been…" Castle said before Julia laughed at that. He leaned over and kissed his wife before saying, "You need to take a shower?"

"I do, I'm a little sweaty. But I'll be right back, don't worry," Beckett said with a slight laugh as the girls groaned in disappointment. "It'll be quick."

"Go, we have this all set," Castle told her. He shared a kiss with her before he watched her kissing their daughters and then hurry to the stairs to head up to their room. "Let's get this all ready for when she comes down," he told Julia and Eliza.

A few minutes later, Beckett was again brushing her hair after her shower and she hurriedly put it back into a ponytail before she went downstairs. As she was walking toward the kitchen she was a little surprised to see that her husband was alone and she asked, "They deserted you?"

"No, they decided to go check on Macca's food and water when they heard you come down," Castle replied, looking up from her mug of coffee. "But honestly I think Julia just wanted you to see this."

"So I could thank you alone?" Beckett asked, watching him finishing up the art in the foam on top before he turned to her. She took it, and smiled as she saw that he'd done an abstract pattern and she said, "These are easier for you aren't they?"

"A bit but still I put some thought into the shapes," Castle said, standing close to her.

Looking up at him, Beckett quickly set her mug down and wrapped her arms around him tightly before whispering, "Thank you."

Castle was a little surprised at her short speech but when she kissed him he decided it didn't really matter before he was wrapping his arms around her to kiss her back. He was quick to gently caress her lower lip with his tongue before she parted them both to let him in. At that point, he started to duel with her as she instigated things and he would have kept that up for a long time if they hadn't been driven apart by their oldest whispering Eliza's name.

Turning with him to look down the hall, Beckett had to smile when she saw Julia was trying to hold her sister by the arm to keep her with her and she called, "Let her go, we do need to eat."

"Oh, okay," Julia sighed as she knew they wouldn't kiss anymore. She hurried then to follow her sister to their parents and said, "What did he make?"

Leaning down with the mug so they could see, Beckett looked up at her husband with a smile as the two were gasping over the design on the foam. She then hurried them to the table and after they had their plates they sat down to eat. "I have to ask," she said after she ate a bite of her waffle with some blueberries. "Did she ask you if you were going to her class today?"

"She did," Castle said with a smile as Eliza giggled and squirmed in her high chair. "But surprisingly she let me help her get ready without any problems."

"And I see you did Julia's hair," Beckett said, looking over at their oldest and seeing her braid.

"What you didn't think I'd be able to get everything set?" Castle asked with a smirk.

Beckett leaned over and kissed him on the lips, smiling when she tried to pull away and he kept her against him. "We need to eat," she told him simply.

"I know but…" Castle said before he kissed her one more time.

"I knew you'd get everything set," Beckett said so Julia wouldn't comment on their kisses. "You have before."

"I think she was teasing you Daddy," Julia said, giggling when her sister nodded too as she was holding a blueberry in her fingers and waving her hand back and forth.

"She was," Castle said quickly before he turned his attention to Eliza. "Eat, don't play," he gently admonished her.

"Sorry," Eliza replied before putting the fruit into her mouth.

"I was going to ask," Castle said once he had turned to Julia. "What are you going to be doing today in dance class?"

"The Flamenco right? We heard her telling them when we went yesterday," Beckett pointed out to him.

"At the start she said we need to work on our Foxtrots too," Julia replied. "So we're gonna start with the Flamenco," she told them, stomping her feet on the ground to her little sister's squeal. "And then the Foxtrot," she said, extending her left hand since the other was holding her fork.

"Like this?" Eliza asked, trying to mimic her sister.

"Pretty close," Castle said. "You know you should teach her later today."

"The Foxtrot?" Julia asked. When he nodded she giggled and then said, "I could, I think I will."

"What is it?" Beckett asked, seeing the slightly thoughtful look on the little girl's face. "Oh no, Julia, we're not learning."

"Rats, I could have taught you something…" the little girl replied before she smiled as Beckett shook her head. "But really Mommy, I feel like you should learn something with Daddy."

"Why?" Beckett asked, feeling Castle looking at her instead of their oldest.

"It'd be romantic," Julia said, counting off on her fingers. "And you would like the Argentine Tango Mommy; you could be in charge of that when you dance."

"Wait, isn't it supposed to be the guy?" Castle asked quickly.

"Sorta, but it's like the girl is being… a hoof?" Julia asked before making a slightly disgusted face as she knew that wasn't the word she wanted to use.

"Aloof I think you mean," Beckett suggested.

Julia nodded quickly and then said, "I think too you should learn how to do a proper Waltz… Viennese Waltz too."

"What, we don't already?" Castle asked.

"No," Julia firmly.

"It's not proper?" Castle asked, saying the last word with a British accent. When the little girl leveled him with a look he pretended to jump; setting Eliza giggling; and said, "You looked like your mom there."

"Sweetie, at the moment we're more content to let you be the dancer in the family," Beckett said as she knew Julia was going to start protesting and saying they should learn to dance again.

With a heavy sigh, the little girl finally nodded and said, "I just wish you would."

"Maybe in the future," Castle said. When both his wife and their oldest daughter looked at him in surprise he said, "What? It could happen you know."

"Maybe," Beckett finally said with a slight nod. "But since we're still talking about dancing there aren't any competitions coming up?"

"No, Ms. Grey didn't say," Julia replied, shaking her head.

"What about during the summer?" Castle then inquired.

"No, she said they don't have them then 'cause usually people go on vacation, like we will," Julia said. She then said eagerly, "I can't wait for Spring Break next week and going back to the city."

"Me too!" Eliza crowed before Castle leaned over and pressed his lips to her temple.

"We should have a lot of fun," Beckett said with a nod. "And remember the week after that Alexis and your grandfather are going to be coming back here with us."

"I hope it's warmer then," Julia said with a slight frown, looking outside and at some of the snow that was visible.

"It should be," Beckett replied. "But you two are going to be going to school remember."

"We know," Julia replied with a nod, smiling when she saw her little sister was doing the same. "But we decided that they can get rest until we get home… right?"

"Most likely," Castle said with a smile. "You two are just bundles of energy."

Smiling when both girls giggled at that, Beckett said, "And you know you two will be able to make something for them while they're here."

"Our art time," Julia said to Eliza when she saw the toddler looked a little confused.

"Oh… I wanna make something," Eliza said happily. "For everyone."

"And you will, in a couple weeks," Castle said. "Love?"

"Yeah?" Beckett replied, looking at him questioningly.

"What're we going to do that week since we're not writing," Castle said, voicing something that had been concerning him.

"Well, I had two ideas, both depend on the weather," Beckett told him. When he nodded she smiled and said, "We could start practicing for the polo season. Or if it's too cold, would it be too hard to think of some future plots?"

"For me? Come on," Castle scoffed teasingly before he laughed at her rolling her eyes.

"Then we'll see what happens," Beckett replied. She then looked at her watch and said, "But for now you two still have school and we should keep eating so we can go."

"Mommy," Julia said after they'd been eating for a while. "What are you gonna do while we're all at school today? The three of us?"

"Rebecca's coming over to do yoga with me, at about… eight thirty I think," Beckett answered. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah, is she bringing Dani?" Julia asked.

"I think she has to," Castle said.

"Oh," Julia said, nodding slightly. "Are you going to come and pick them up?"

"I will," Beckett replied as she looked at him. "I never thought I'd have to pick up my husband from school."

"What's that adage? Never say never?" Castle said.

"It is but still, my husband," Beckett replied teasingly.

"Just one day," Castle replied. "And she and I can get back home on our own if you don't want to get us."

"Mommy!" Julia and Eliza said in slight panic at the same time.

"Calm down you two," Castle said with a smile.

"I'm going to get you," Beckett replied, smiling as well at their reactions to the idea she would stay home. "And Julia, think you'd be okay if we took Eliza to lunch downtown?"

"What about going to the station?" Julia then said in slight confusion.

"I got a text from Brad," Beckett said as her husband suddenly turned his head to her as he had obviously remembered that too. "And he doesn't need us, he's waiting for a warrant and once he gets that he'll see if he needs us."

"You can go," Julia replied. She then looked a little hesitant and said, "I hope you can come get me."

"We'll do our best," Castle promised her. "And since we're talking about school, we need to get going."

With that the four finished their meal and a quick clean up was done before they were going to the entry where they bundled up and then left, after Castle and Beckett had exchanged a lingering kiss they knew they wouldn't be able to share at the school. They headed to the Fosters where Mari came out on her own, waving to her parents who were behind her before she turned to the others.

"They didn't want to come?" Julia asked her friend as she took her hand.

"Daddy has to go to City Hall and Dani's still asleep so Mommy wants to let her sleep a little more before she goes to your house," Mari explained.

The group then headed to the school, the three girls walking together in front of Castle and Beckett, and once they were in the elementary school building they let Julia take her friend down to her classroom.

"Do we go now?" Eliza asked.

"Hold on, we're actually going to do something a little different today," Castle replied, holding her hand.

"What?" Eliza said interestedly as she looked back and forth between her parents.

"Okay… so what are we doing now?" Julia asked when she got back to her family and realized that they weren't going to do things as they usually did when she and her sister were dropped off.

"We're going to your classroom first," Beckett said as Castle picked Eliza up and they went over to the stairs.

"Can she look inside again?" Julia asked as she had glanced at the toddler's face and could tell that she wanted to.

"Very quickly," Beckett replied before they reached the open doorway. "Hurry and say goodbye."

"I'll see you at recess," Julia told Eliza who quickly nodded.

"Bye, Daddy and I will play with you," the toddler told her seriously.

"Here, look at my class really fast," Julia said, taking her hand and letting her step just past the doorway. She smiled as Eliza looked with wide eyes; though she'd seen it before; at all the posters and signs in the room before she led her back to their parents. "I'll see you at recess too Daddy," she told Castle as she hugged him quickly.

"I can't wait," he replied, kissing her temple quickly before she kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you later but have fun," Beckett then said as she and Julia hugged tightly. "And make sure your daddy doesn't go crazy on the playground."

Giggling, Julia nodded before she said, "I will, see you Mommy."

After sharing a kiss with her, Beckett stood back up and watched Julia go into the room before she turned to the two and said, "Now to drop you both off."

Castle smiled and handed Eliza to her before they headed down the stairs to the pre-school room and once they were inside he took the chance to kiss her lips gently. "Had to," he told her with a smirk when he pulled away from her.

"Oh of course, I expected that," Beckett replied before she turned to Eliza. "Okay I hope you have the best day with your daddy," she said, setting her down to start taking off her outer layers. "And I want to hear all about it during lunch okay?"

"Kay, don't miss Daddy," Eliza said.

"I won't, I'll see you in only a few hours," Beckett replied, handing everything to Castle who put it away in their daughter's cubbyhole. She hugged Eliza to her tightly and murmured, "See you later sweetie."

"Later Mommy, bye!" Eliza exclaimed.

"We'll see you later love," Castle said before Beckett waved to them both and was leaving. He turned then with Eliza's hand in his to seek out her teachers to speak with them and see where he would need to go once the bell rang.

"Mr. Castle, Eliza," Mrs. Duncan said, going over to him. "Good morning to you both."

"Good morning," Castle said as Eliza said the same quickly. "Is there anywhere you want me to wait when the class starts?"

"You can stay up here with us, since we'll introduce you after the morning exercises," Mrs. Hughes said, coming over to them. "And we'll have you read to them before they start on their art for the day."

"And after would you mind reading another book? It'll be a science book, about butterflies," Mrs. Duncan said.

"Daddy, read that too!" Eliza gasped.

Smiling down at her, Castle nodded and said, "I will. Is that going to take us all the way to the end of the class?"

"It will, since we'll be talking in more detail about the process in that book," Mrs. Duncan said. "But for now you can take your dad around the classroom if you want Eliza, you just need to go to your seat once the bell rings."

Nodding, Eliza tugged her father's hand but was surprised when he led her over to the door and she asked, "I don't want to go."

"I need to get my coat off," Castle told her with a smile as he removed his scarf as well. He set them on top of the cubbyholes before he let Eliza take him through the classroom. The smile didn't leave his face as he listened to her chattering eagerly about everything they passed and he was surprised she still heard the bell to start school. As she hurried to her seat at one of the round tables in the room he headed to the front, standing a little behind the teachers as they started to take attendance.

"So today we have a special class," Mrs. Hughes said, not surprised the students immediately looked over at Castle as soon as the last name was called. "This is Mr. Castle and you know he is Eliza's father but how many of you know that he writes books?"

"More than I thought," Castle murmured when he saw a number of hands go up, smiling at Mrs. Duncan who glanced back at him at that.

"Is he gonna tell us about that?" a little boy said near the back.

"Actually he's here to read to us," Mrs. Duncan replied. She wasn't surprised when the kids murmured to one another before she said, "He's going to read two books, first one that's about a little girl who lives in a hotel in New York City."

Smiling; as he hadn't had a clue as to what book he'd be reading; Castle glanced at Eliza; seeing she looked excited since she loved the Eloise books. He then turned his attention back to the teacher as she continued speaking.

"And we'll have art right after that-" Mrs. Duncan began to say.

"Is he gonna do that too?" a girl asked while her hand was in the air.

"Sure," Castle said when the two teachers looked back at him.

"And after recess he'll read a book about caterpillars and butterflies," Mrs. Hughes then said. "Does that sound pretty good?" She laughed when the students nodded their heads and said, "Alright, then we'll go ahead and start with our first book for today."

Taking it from Mrs. Duncan, Castle sat down in a chair; relieved it was a regular sized one; and waited for the students to come up to sit around him on the floor. He smiled at Eliza when she sat front and center and he cleared his throat saying, "This book is called _Eloise_. Have any of you read this one before?" When he saw only a few hands; one of them his daughter's; he was again relieved as he hadn't wanted to face the kids being bored. "Well, your teacher told you some of the plot already-" he began before a little boy raised his hand in the air.

"Yes Frankie?" Mrs. Hughes said.

"What does that mean?" the boy said.

"Plot? It's what the story is about," Castle answered as he looked to the two teachers who nodded to him. "And in this case, it's about her adventures living in the hotel." When the boy nodded and put his hand back down he continued saying, "I think I better start the book, that way you won't keep wondering what's going to happen." At the giggles of the kids, he began to read, having to stop a few times for the teachers; and a few times himself. But for the most part the students were attentive and he had to thank Eliza in his mind for having made him 'practice' reading to her so he would know what to do.

"Thank you very much Mr. Castle," Mrs. Hughes said when he'd finished the book and closed it. "Did you enjoy that?" she directed to the children. When there was a chorus of yeses she smiled and said, "Okay, then we'll have him read again after recess for sure. Now you all need to go back to your seats and get ready for art."

Watching as the students all stood and went back to their tables they'd been sitting at during roll call; Castle stood and glanced at Mrs. Duncan who was getting something from a cabinet. "Should I stay here or could I sit with Eliza?" he asked the woman.

"No, go ahead," the teacher replied. "But you're going to need to use one of their chairs.

"That's alright," Castle replied, taking a quick glance at his watch to see there was only a half hour until recess. He went to Eliza after grabbing a spare chair at the front of the room and he resisted the urge to kiss her cheek as he sat with her.

"Hi Daddy," the toddler whispered, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Hey sweetheart," Castle replied quickly. He smiled at the others around the table, seeing they were smiling back at him. "Hey, you guys ready to color?"

"I'm gonna play with clay," one girl said quickly.

"Oh, that'll be fun too," Castle said before he jumped up then as Mrs. Hughes approached with a box of what he guessed had art supplies.

"Thanks, if you could help everyone get everything they want to use that would be great," the teacher told him.

"Not a problem," Castle said with a nod before he sat back down. "Okay, let's see what you have here," he told the others as he opened the box. "Some crayons, colored pencils, there's that clay you were talking about. So who wants to do what?" He helped pass out everything and he and Eliza took a pack of colored pencils and some paper that had also been in the box.

"Can I color for Mommy?" Eliza asked him.

"Of course, you don't need to ask that," Castle said with a smile, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "What should I color?"

"Color for Jules," Eliza replied firmly, nodding her head slightly.

"Will do," Castle said before he started to put the green pencil down on the paper.

Before he could mark the clear white sheet the door suddenly banged open and the two teachers jumped up as four men entered the room, rifles aimed at them in their hands.

"What-" Castle started to say as he grabbed Eliza.

"Get down, down on the floor!" the lead man yelled at them. "Lay them down now!"

Castle; though Eliza was clinging to him in terror; managed to get all the kids at the table to lie down on their stomachs next to their chairs, looking over and seeing that somehow the two teachers had done the same with the rest of the students. He then laid down, holding onto his daughter as he tried to get her to stop crying, hearing Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Duncan doing the same to the others who were crying as well.

"Alright, we're clear," one of the men said.

Looking over, Castle heard another man outside yell, "Get back in your room and stay there! This school is on lockdown!" He looked at the two teachers in confusion at that but knew already what was happening; they were hostages.

"Get up," the lead gunman suddenly said to them. When the children and adults looked up at him he said more forcefully than before, "Get up and bring them up here to the front to sit."

Hurriedly Castle, Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Duncan did so, trying to calm down all the children who by then had mostly calmed down and were staring at the gunmen with wide eyes. They sat down as well and the kids gathered around them as they watched one man go to the windows while the first gunman stayed in front of them.

Holding Eliza tightly to him as he stroked her hair, Castle looked past the man to the hall, seeing that two men were passing each other. He then remembered Julia and felt a sickening lurch, turning his attention back to the gunman above them, saying, "My daughter-"

"Quiet," the man said, turning the gun on him.

"No, my older daughter, she's upstairs, I need to know if she's okay," Castle said as fast as he possibly could.

"Everyone's fine," the man said before looking up at the sound of sirens. "Especially now."

Though he couldn't see it because the man's face was covered; all the gunmen were; Castle could hear the smile in his tone and he wasn't sure if he should be that glad that the police were already aware of the situation. But his mind quickly went to Beckett and he hoped that Brad would call her soon, knowing the chief was going to need her help to get them out of the situation alive.

* * *

Entering the house after walking back from the school, Beckett removed her outer layers and tried to calm Macca down at the same time as the dog was jumping up on her. "Easy boy, I know you're happy to see I'm here," she said. She then heard her phone ringing with its text alert message and got it out, seeing it was from Rebecca, telling her to call her. "Hey, change your mind about our yoga session?" she asked once she'd dialed her number.

"No, I'm wondering is it okay if I come a little bit later, maybe an hour from now?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure, anything wrong?" Beckett asked.

"No, just wanted to spend a little more time with Ruby," Rebecca replied.

"You're going to spoil her," Beckett teased her friend.

"Like you didn't do the same with Eliza," Rebecca said. "I'll text you when we're about to head over."

"See you then," Beckett replied before she hung up the phone. She looked at Macca then who was sitting and staring up at her before he stood on his hind legs, his front paws on her lower abdomen. "Okay, I guess you're getting a bath," she said. "Come on," she told him as she led the way to the downstairs bathroom where they were giving Macca his baths that winter in a large tub that Castle had found for that purpose.

Getting everything ready, Beckett had to coax the puppy into the tub and had to wrestle a little to start to rinse him off before he finally calmed down. She spoke to him as she worked saying, "I'll have to tell the girls how you were again, you know they don't like you resisting with baths." She smiled when she felt him lick her cheek and she said, "I won't be taking that long," as she knew that was to get her to let him jump out.

Washing the dog's fur took a little longer that time, as Beckett found Macca was dirty from going outside earlier that morning. But she had him cleaned and dried before she cleaned up the room and was setting the tub down in the garage. As she walked back to the house she looked at her watch and was startled to see it was nearly time for Rebecca to come. She hurried up the stairs, not surprised when Macca followed her as he usually did that after he'd had a bath. But just as they got to the top he suddenly barked and turned around, making her stop abruptly to watch him go down. "Macca," she called as she saw him make a beeline to the door out to the backyard. She went after and when she saw Rebecca there holding Dani in her arms she shook her head. "And you were going to text me?" she asked jokingly as she let her in.

"Sorry but I thought you might be waiting for me since you're not writing," Rebecca said. "And I didn't change yet."

"I can see that," Beckett replied. "Were you having any problems with Dani?"

"No, want to hold her?" Rebecca asked with a smile as she saw her friend was looking at her daughter.

"I would but first since we're delaying our yoga, do you want something to drink?" Beckett asked as she took the baby and led her friend to the family room where they sat together on the couch.

"I'm fine," Rebecca said before she was yawning. "Sorry."

"Do you even want to do yoga? You look pretty tired," Beckett asked her.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment before she said, "Let's have a shorter session." When she noticed her friend was still looking at her she said in exasperation, "Yes, David and I were together last night. But again, you and Castle-"

"I'm not judging you," Beckett said with a laugh as she took Dani's hand off of her cheek. "I understand. But why didn't you just tell me before? We can very easily reschedule our session."

"I think I'm still of the mindset I can do what I please," Rebecca said. "That I have the energy for it," she added. "I forgot what it was like having an infant."

"Well, you had enough time to do that," Beckett said with a slight smile. She looked down at Dani who was holding onto her index finger and she asked her friend, "So she's doing well?"

"Of course," Rebecca replied, leaning over and kissing the top of her daughter's head. "You know what, let's do the yoga still."

"You sure?" Beckett asked, not surprised when Rebecca reached out and took her daughter back. When her friend nodded she said, "I'll be right back," and headed up the stairs to change into some of her yoga clothes before she went back. "You're fast."

"I had to be, this was the best place to change and have Dani within sight," Rebecca said. "I took the initiative and went to the channel."

"Are you having mood swings still?" Beckett asked her as she studied her.

"No, I just got a sudden burst of energy," Rebecca replied. "I need to take advantage of it." She waited for Beckett to get her yoga mat and they rolled them both out before they turned their attention to the TV.

As she put herself in the first position, Beckett said, "I think I have everything set for next week."

"It should be pretty fun; Eliza likes the Children's Museum right?" Rebecca replied.

Since they needed to change positions, Beckett waited until they had to answer saying, "She does but she actually asked to go somewhere else."

"She did?" Rebecca asked, turning her head to look at her friend in surprise.

"A slight change, we're still going…" Beckett began before they moved again. "We're still going to a children's museum but the one in Brooklyn."

"We took Shane and Mari there," Rebecca replied after thinking for a moment. "That's a nice choice, she picked it?"

"No, Rick suggested it and Julia backed him up," Beckett said before they stretched out as the program was just finishing then. "So we're doing that."

"Anything else?" Rebecca asked.

"The park, for the playground and of course the carousel," Beckett said.

"And Rick doesn't want to do anything?" Rebecca asked as she watched her friend turn off the TV. "No more?"

"We're going to _Le Circe_ that night," Beckett said, answering her first question. "And no, I'm good; I just realized I need to call the restaurant to check on something and to make a few other calls. So we should reschedule this."

"After we talk to our husbands of course," Rebecca pointed out.

"Of course, you don't have to go," Beckett told her. "But I'll be on the phone."

"Keeping you company?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

"You and Dani," Beckett said before they both turned to look at Macca going over to the bassinet that the baby was in. "Macca-" she began.

"It's okay," Rebecca said quickly. "Go change so you can get everything set."

With a smile, Beckett left the room as her friend was looking in on the baby and cooing to her before looking at her watch. She saw it was nearly time for recess at the school and smiled a little wider, wondering what her husband and daughter were doing right that second. She knew they'd tell her once she went to get them so she then focused her attention on getting changed. As she went back down to the family room, she tried to recall in her mind what she needed to do before she was stepping into the room.

"I'm wondering," Rebecca said when Beckett was sitting next to her on the couch. "Why didn't you go?"

"To the school?" Beckett asked. Her friend nodded and she smiled briefly before she said, "They asked if we could go one at a time, I set the day I'm going." At the same time though, she felt something bothering her, not sure what the feeling was exactly and trying to pass it off as a nearly strained muscle from their yoga session.

"And why was that a big secret?" Rebecca asked, alluding to the fact that there hadn't been any kind of mention of it before then.

"Not a secret, Eliza's teachers weren't sure if they'd be able to have me there before the year ended," Beckett explained. "So we waited to see."

"Still doesn't explain one at a time," Rebecca said. "There was no trouble with you both going to Julia's class."

"Yeah, that we never got an explanation for," Beckett said with a nod. "I'm guessing something about being able to keep the kids in line more? I don't know."

"Maybe they're going to ask about you being a police officer?" Rebecca suggested.

Beckett paused in starting to get up to get them something to drink when she paused. "You know, they did mention they wanted to talk to me about something after Rick's visit today…" she trailed off. "I'll have to see when I go to pick them up."

"That's likely it," Rebecca said with a smile. "Getting something to drink?"

"Uh, Dani?" Beckett asked as her friend started to follow her.

"You see Macca?" Rebecca replied as she nodded to the bassinet where the Wolfhound was laying next to it. "He's a good watch dog isn't he?"

"He is," Beckett said, giving her a look.

Smiling, Rebecca said, "I'm planning on running back with my glass when you pour it out… or just get it myself."

Shaking her head as she was smiling too, Beckett led the way to the kitchen saying, "Since we were talking about birthdays, have you thought about what to do for Mari's?"

"A little actually, I want to make this one a good one since I'm always afraid I'm focusing on Dani more than her," Rebecca said. She watched as Beckett poured her a glass of ice water and told her, "We'll continue that back in the room," as she was then leaving.

Watching her go, Beckett had to smile again before she got her water and once inside the family room told her, "I don't think Mari would agree with you thinking that."

"See, that's the disadvantage of having children so far apart," Rebecca replied.

"We never had that problem," Beckett said quickly.

"No, but you two are very different of course," Rebecca conceded. "But we spent so long just trying to have another baby I wonder if maybe I took her for granted."

"Rebecca," Beckett said immediately and also a little sternly as well. "You obviously love her, deeply and I could see that when we first met. Are you okay?"

"It's not post partum," Rebecca replied with sigh. "I mentioned this to David a couple weeks ago and he freaked out that it was. No, it's just me trying to handle David being gone so much and caring for Dani." She then hurriedly continued as she saw her friend had opened her mouth to speak, "He's trying to do as much as he can at home but you know what it's like of course."

"It can still overwhelm you," Beckett said with a slight nod. "I'll agree with that but just remember you do love your girls."

"I do," Rebecca said with a smile before going over to the bassinet and picking up her daughter.

At that moment Beckett's phone rang and she hurriedly fished it from her pocket before she frowned at the caller.

"Who is it?" Rebecca asked, surprised at the expression on her face.

"Your husband," Beckett said. When Rebecca shrugged she answered it and put it on speaker saying, "David, your wife is here with me and-"

"No, Kate that's not why I'm calling, did you not hear?" the man said on the other end.

"Hear what?" Rebecca asked, startled to hear his slightly anxious tone of voice.

"There's a hostage situation at the school," David replied.

"Which school?" Beckett asked, not surprised when both she and Rebecca tensed up immediately in response to that.

"The elementary school but Brad told me it looks like it might be just in one classroom," David said.

"Which one?" Beckett was nearly afraid to ask, dreading the answer though she knew what it was going to be as soon as he started to speak.

"I'm so sorry Kate, it might be Eliza's," David replied, knowing that she had already figured it out, sounding miserable at the same time.

"We'll be there," Beckett said simply before she hung up the phone and she and Rebecca were racing to the door with Dani in tow.


	10. When I'm Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Beware My Love by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Wings album Wings at the Speed of Sound.

Turning as he heard his name being called, Brad frowned when he saw it was Beckett and said, "Kate, you-"

"Don't even think about telling me I'm a civilian," Beckett nearly snapped at him though she wasn't angry. "I need to know what's going on."

Brad opened his mouth to protest but then he recalled that she and Castle had gone through a similar situation when he'd been a hostage before, so he relented. "We got a call at about nine forty that in five minutes the elementary school was going to be on lockdown while the other two were going to be let go," he started with.

"Did you take it seriously?" Beckett asked, swallowing hard.

"Of course but the five minutes was a lie, they were about to go in right that second," Brad replied.

"And how the hell-" Beckett began to say.

"They climbed the fence with everyone inside the classrooms and at the moment no one outside to see them so they got in," Brad said with a sigh.

"They didn't want to waste time going through the administration building," Beckett commented as she glanced at it; to her right. "Is anyone there?"

"No they have a gunman in there, he got the middle and high school buildings emptied and the kids have been sent home," Brad replied before Kirby came up to him then. "It's alright," he said quickly to the officer with a slight nod as he was looking at Beckett. "She's been through something like this before. We could use her help."

"The FBI is on its way sir," Kirby then said, nodding his head.

"They're taking over?" Beckett asked.

"They're going to assist us," Kirby answered.

"Good, I don't need to lose control on this one," Brad said grimly.

"Your kids-" Beckett started to say, recalling suddenly that since they were nine and ten, they'd be in the sixth and fifth grade classrooms.

"Yeah, I know but they're alright," Brad said.

Looking at him in surprise at that, Beckett said, "What else do you know?"

"The administration building is empty and the gunman there is our link to the group," Brad replied. "There are six of them."

"He admitted to that freely?" Beckett asked, sounding startled at that.

"Well, we can't really substantiate it," Brad said as she nodded. "And he said they want to speak to the FBI before they issue any kind of demands."

"Okay," Beckett said slowly. "Instead of dealing with local police."

"I can't read their minds," Brad replied. "So they got in and as far as we know some of them went to the elementary school, one went to the middle school and the other went to the high school and they emptied the two, as I told you. But we know they're in Mrs. Duncan and Mrs. Hughes' classroom because the principal saw the blinds being closed and we can see someone pushing one of them aside to look out every so often."

"What about the rest of the building?" Beckett asked.

"The gunman on the phone said the two men that evacuated the other buildings were keeping an eye on the teachers, making sure no one took it to their head to become a hero," Brad said grimly. "But the best news we have is that there are no injuries."

"Any shots?" Beckett asked.

"We spoke to everyone from the administration building, as far as they know no," Brad said. "They never shot, just threatened."

"So they don't want to shoot anyone," Beckett murmured. She glanced at Brad and said, "They're in Eliza's classroom."

"Yeah," the chief said uncomfortably.

"Where Rick is," Beckett told him.

"Yeah," Brad repeated. He looked down and then said, "I know Kate, we're looking into it but this is where you can help us now."

"How," Beckett said, a determined look coming onto her face without her realizing it.

"You've talked with men like this before," Brad replied.

"Once," Beckett had to admit.  
"And managed to help Rick and a number of others escape alive; including your mother in law," Brad told her. "Speaking of-"

"I called everyone here," Beckett said, staring at him. "Ryan and Esposito are coming, they finished their case and they're going to help see what these people wanted to target my husband for."

"Alright then we should get you to the phone," Brad told her as he held his arm out so she would go over to a van in the parking lot in front of the administration building, parked up on the grass in front of the door but not close enough to risk being shot at.

"What about the cell phones?" Beckett suddenly asked once the door was closed behind them.

"We tried calling Rick's… which you did too," Brad started to say when he saw her expression. "And then we had the principal call a few of the teacher's numbers that he had and they all went to voicemail too so it's more than likely-"

"The gunmen took them," Beckett finished for him.

"That's what it looks like," Brad said. "Are you ready?"

"What makes you think they'll even want to speak to me?" Beckett asked him.

"We'll have to try," Brad replied.

"They wouldn't talk to you," Beckett stated as she was putting on the headset he'd handed her.

"They won't talk to any of us," Hutchinson replied.

Beckett wanted to point out that it was likely they wouldn't talk until the FBI arrived but she nodded to the officer and she soon heard a gruff voice on the other end answering. "My name is Kate-" she began to say.

"Beckett?" the man asked.

A little startled she looked at Brad; who shrugged; and she said, "I am, were you expecting me."

"Of course," the man said. "Your kid and husband are inside. But we're not saying anything until the FBI gets there."

"Why do you have the rest of the school locked up?" Beckett then asked, as she was able to tell the man wasn't going to budge on waiting for the FBI just by his tone of voice.

"Oh, we were waiting. What's it to you?" the man asked.

Brad was a little startled by the nonchalant tone of the gunman and he glanced at Beckett, wondering how she was going to reply.

"Well, it might make the FBI look more favorably on your demands if you start with letting the rest of the children go and the kids in the classroom your colleagues-" Beckett started to say.

"No, no, we won't give that up," the man said. "But you might get ready for the others; they're coming out right now. Remember, we don't say another word until we talk to the FBI."

Beckett nearly tore off her headset before she was jumping out of the van, running to the gate where the elementary school students went in. She saw one of the gunmen was standing next to the open door and she held her breath, wondering if they were going to comply with her suggestion.

"I hope this worked, even though it only solved half the issue," Brad commented, having her step back slightly.

Nodding, Beckett wasn't surprised to see him looking anxious and she followed his gaze to see a figure coming to the dark doorway.

* * *

Running his hand carefully over the back of Eliza's head, Castle nearly jumped when he heard the sound of chairs scraping above them. He glanced up at the ceiling before he realized what the sound was.

"Daddy?" Eliza whispered, looking at him with her thumb in her mouth.

"It's okay, I think they're-" Castle began to say.

"Stay down," the gunman in the room that had been walking around them said to Mrs. Hughes. "We're letting the others go."

"At least let the kids go," the teacher protested, holding on tightly to the little girl that was sitting on her lap.

Castle wasn't too surprised when the man didn't answer her and he looked towards the doorway as there was some movement, seeing it was kids. He heard Eliza cry out shortly when they saw Mari walk by, her hands on her hand like the other kids' had been that had already passed. "Julia!" he called when a minute later he saw her.

"Jules!" Eliza cried, trying to get out of her father's arms. But when he held her in place, whispering to her that they needed to stay, she started to cry.

At the same time, Julia had paused and seeing the man with the gun near them she felt the blood drain from her face, starting to step towards the doorway.

"Keep moving," a gunman said to her, pushing her back into line.

Julia looked around, trying to see if she could somehow go back but with the men around them she had to follow those in front of her. Blinking in the sunlight it took her a moment to recognize one of the figures that was just past the fence, but she soon did. "Mommy!" she nearly screamed, running to her and throwing her arms around her.

"Julia, are you okay?" Beckett asked, holding her as tightly to her as she could. She let her go and cupped her face saying, "They didn't hurt you?"

"No, we only saw them before when they told Mrs. Watson to stay inside with us and then now," Julia replied. She then hurriedly added, "I saw them though, I saw Daddy and Eliza."

"Where they okay?" Beckett asked immediately.

"Yeah but Eliza was scared, I could tell," Julia replied, tears in her eyes. "Why are they doing this?"

"I don't know," Beckett replied, hugging her again as the little girl started to cry.

"Kate!" a familiar voice then called from behind the police barricade, making her turn.

"Alexis, Martha," Beckett said in relief as she saw it was them. She took Julia by the hand and pulled her over to them saying, "They've let everyone else in the school go," as she helped her daughter go underneath to hug her grandmother.

"But not Dad and Eliza?" Alexis asked.

"No, she saw them, but they're okay," Beckett assured them.

"Are you involved with trying to get them out?" Martha asked.

"I'm trying," Beckett replied before she heard someone calling to her. She turned and saw that Brad was standing with two men, both in suits. "Look, they're waiting to talk to the FBI and since they're here we should have them out soon." And with that she left them after kissing Julia's forehead and murmuring she loved her.

"Ms. Beckett?" the taller of the two men said when she had reached them.

"Yes, my husband and daughter are among the hostages in there," Beckett replied, wondering if they were going to order her away.

"You spoke with them," the other agent said.

"I did, he was nonchalant, lucid," Beckett said as she nodded her head. "And they have a set plan; they're buying time waiting for you."

"And with letting the other children go," the tall agent said.

"My daughter was able to look into the classroom where they're being kept," Beckett then said, hesitant to involve her but knowing the agents needed to know as much as possible.

"I'd like to speak with her," the shorter agent said after sharing a glance with his partner.

Beckett nodded and she led him back to where the little girl was standing with her sister and grandparents. "Dad?" she asked in surprise at seeing him.

"I had to come," Jim said quickly. "Are you okay?"

"I am, they're fine too," Beckett replied. "Julia, sweetie, this man wants to talk to you about what you saw okay?" she told her.

Looking at the man Julia nodded once, reluctantly, and she ducked back under the barrier, taking her mother's hand.

"Julia?" the agent asked. When she nodded he said, "My name is Owen, can you tell me what you saw when you passed by that classroom? Anything you can remember would be a big help."

Nodding, Julia then told him what she'd told her mother, not surprised when the man asked her some more questions, mostly about the men holding guns. "Does that help?" she asked when she'd told him everything she could possibly remember.

"It does, you can take her back," the agent told Beckett.

Though the man hadn't told her whether or not she would be allowed to continue to help, Beckett went back to the van that the FBI had taken over once Julia was with the others. She was surprised to see that the two men merely looked at her before speaking to one another again. She sat with Brad and watched as the taller agent started speaking to the gunman in the administration building.

"Hold on Fed," the man was saying on the other end as the agent started to introduce himself. "We'd prefer to speak to someone with a lot more to lose in this, where's Ms. Beckett?"

"I'm here," she said, taking the headset that the agent had given her right away; knowing then that the two agents knew her past experience as well. "You'd like to make your demands now?"

"Oh sure you see we're having some problems, the kids are getting anxious and are harder to control for three adults," the man said. "We'd like two million in hundreds."

"From me?" Beckett asked.

"Not just you, but everyone who has a child here; the friends and family of the teachers, all of those people," the man said before hanging up.

"That's not too much of a demand," Beckett immediately said to the two FBI agents.

"No, they're aiming for more time," the taller agent replied, frowning. "We have a SWAT-"  
"With children in the room?" Brad said angrily.

"It might end up being our only option," the other agent said. "We have them coming but they'll be a last resort, for now we need to try and get them back on the line again."

"I'm assuming you don't need my help at this point," Beckett said.

"Unless we talk to them again," the shorter agent said.

Beckett gave a curt nod and she stepped outside of the van, taking her phone out of her pocket at the same time. She was about to call Rebecca when she heard her friend calling her and she looked up, seeing that she was next to her mother in law at the barrier. Jogging over she then saw Lily was there and she was passed by the chief who went to his two children.

"They don't need me either," Brad said as he glanced at Beckett. "They need to decide what to do about the demand."

"They didn't give a time limit for that," she whispered into his ear.

The chief paused at that and he glanced at her before they both looked to the building. "We'll have to talk about that later," he said quickly.

"Mari, are you okay?" Beckett then said, turning her attention to the little girl who as in her mother's arms.

"Yeah," she replied in a whisper.

"She's a little scared," Rebecca said. She then grabbed Beckett's hand and squeezed it tightly telling her, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Beckett replied as she put her arm around Julia who'd come over to her.

"Are they having any luck?" David asked as he nodded to Brad who was starting to jog back to the van.

"At the moment… we're not sure," Beckett said before she saw that the chief was waving her back. "Look," she told Alexis, Martha and her father. "There's not much you can do, I would be really grateful if you could take her home."

"Not without Eliza and Daddy!" Julia cried, gripping onto her mother as tightly as she could.

"Sweetie," Beckett said, kneeling in front of her and holding her by the arms. "You need to be somewhere safe because I'm still worried about you here. Go home with them and as soon as we get your daddy and sister out we'll come."

"You promise?" Julia asked, sniffing as she was trying not to cry again.

Not wanting to say it, Beckett nodded once and she hugged her daughter as tightly as she could telling her, "I love you Julia, so much."

"Love you Mommy," the little girl replied, hugging her hard before she took Alexis' hand, watching her go back to the van. She walked with her, her grandparents and the Fosters before she realized they were walking in the opposite direction from the house. "Aren't we going home?" she asked.

"We're going to get something to drink," Alexis replied.

"And to eat, you must be starving kiddo," Martha said.

"I don't wanna," Julia replied. "Do you?" she asked, wondering if her grandmother wasn't worried.

"Not particularly," Martha sighed as the little girl wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. "But your father will be fine; you know he can take care of himself."

"And your mother will do everything to make sure that he gets home," Jim then said.

"Yeah… she will," Julia said absently, wondering if her mother could as she remembered the guns she'd seen the men holding. She tried to shake off the image and keep to the thought that her mother had saved Castle's life many times before and she would make sure she did it again.

"Did they call again?" Beckett asked as she entered the back of the van.

"Yeah, they're asking for you," the tall agent said, handing the headset to her.

Putting it on, Beckett took an inward deep breath before looking at the note the agent handed her saying, "We have the money for you."

"That's great," the man replied. "Do you have it in hundreds?"

"Yes, in locked suitcases," Beckett read off the page.

"Great," the man said simply.

Beckett jerked her head back when the line went dead and she looked at the FBI agents questioningly before saying, "Did they even want the money?" She wasn't too surprised when the shorter agent called to someone outside on his walkie-talkie, listening to the other person's reply.

"Got no visual but the blind is still moving," came over the static.

"What about the doors inside the building," the other agent then asked.

"They're still there, around what's the classroom door," another person said in response.

"No movement?" the agent asked. At a negative response he then nodded to his partner saying, "We need to go in."

"You can't go in," Beckett immediately protested, not surprised when Brad did as well. "There are little kids in there and you can't get any kind of visual; you just said."

"Chief Davis, please escort her out of here, she's a civilian-" the agent started to say.

"I can't-" Brad began.

"You can," the taller agent said firmly. "Or I'll have to have you turn this over to us completely."

Frowning, Brad gave a nod and he followed Beckett out of the van and back to the barrier. "I'm sorry," he said. "But they'll need you back when the guy in there calls again."

Beckett nodded and was about to speak when she heard shouts from the parents still gathered behind the barrier. Turning she saw the door was opening and at the sight of kids starting to come out she and Brad took off at a run.

* * *

Watching the men outside talking to each other, Castle had to wonder if they'd managed to negotiate a deal. He was a little uneasy at the thought of whether or not they'd be released but tried to remind himself that since they hadn't seen the men's faces they might be let go.

"Alright, everything's set we can start," a man said as he came up to the doorway, talking to the gunman in the classroom.

"You're sure," the leader asked. When he got a nod he turned to the teachers saying, "Get the kids up."

The two looked to Castle, who nodded, and he helped the kids around him stand up. "Easy, we're going to go now," he whispered to Eliza who he still held, hearing her starting to whimper.

"Put her down," the gunman said suddenly, striding over to Castle. "Put her down," he repeated in a more commanding tone.

The uneasy feeling inside him returned, and Castle tried to set Eliza down while a couple other men were ushering the students to the door. "Let go of me sweetheart, I need to put you down," he told her. He wasn't surprised when she complied but then wrapped her arms around his waist and with that done he started to walk after the others to the door when he heard an audible click. He froze in place, turning to see that the rifle in the gunman's hands was pointed at his chest.

"She goes but you're going to need to stick around for a while longer," the man said simply.

"No!" Eliza cried, burying her face into her father's side.

"Eliza-" Castle started to say as he bent down to her, holding his hand up to the gunman.

"No, no, no!" the toddler screamed.

"Take her," Castle said, picking his daughter up and handing her to Mrs. Hughes.

Before her father could step away, Eliza was grasping onto his hands as tears ran down her cheeks saying, "Daddy, no!" as she shook her head. "No."

Leaning down, Castle whispered into her ear for a moment and when the toddler shrieked and screamed to him repeatedly as she was kicking her legs he finally yelled huskily, "Get her out of here, get them out of here," as he was trying to fight his heart breaking at the sight of his daughter's tears. As soon as the last of the kids and both teachers were gone he felt hands taking him by the arms and he immediately tried to fight back against the two gun men who were pushing him to the side.

"Hold him still," the leader said from behind them.

Castle, trying to kick at them or trip them at the same time, felt a hand slamming on the side of his head and pushing down hard before there was a sudden prick on his neck. After he felt something being injected into him he was tossed unceremoniously to the ground and quickly recovered. He got to his feet and started to run for the door out into the hall when he stumbled. That time he couldn't recover and he was on his hands and knees before black boots appeared in front of him. He glanced up at the gunmen looking down at him and everything wavered in his vision before he was passing out into unconsciousness as he heard the voices of his captors above him.

Outside, Beckett watched as the pre-school students came out, the other officers of the Hamptons PD taking them quickly away from the gate but keeping an eye on the entrance to the building. She searched all the children; her heart in her throat; until Mrs. Duncan was walking out. She nearly felt sick at the fact that all the children had come out except for her daughter and then saw Mrs. Hughes step out.

"Kate," Brad said as he was taking Eliza from the woman. He ran to where Kirby was keeping her away from the gate and handed her over.

"Where's my husband?" Beckett asked, running past him once Eliza was in her arms. She went to the teachers and grabbed Mrs. Hughes by the sleeve asking, "Where is he?" When the woman wouldn't look at her, she nearly threw the woman's arm and then turned to the building, expecting; hoping; to see Castle coming out. But there was only the darkness of the building beyond and she would have started to run when Hutchinson led her back.

"Mommy," Eliza whispered.

"Sweetie, it's okay," Beckett whispered to her daughter though she wasn't really that convincing in her tone. "Are you okay?" When she shook her head no she kissed her temple and said, "Did your daddy come with you?" Another shake of Eliza's head and she was going to ask something else when she heard her name was being called.

"Where's Dad?" Alexis asked when her stepmother turned to her. She blanched slightly at the expression on Beckett's face and had the answer to her question.

"He's still inside?" Martha asked.

"Mommy-" Julia said in a panic when she heard her grandmother say that.

"You need to take her," Beckett said as she reached them. She was going to place Eliza over the barrier for her father to take her when the toddler started to scream. "What is it?" she asked, a little concerned at that reaction.

Leaning into her mother, Eliza whispered, "Daddy said he loves you. And he thinks he goes."

"Kate." "Kate?" Alexis and then Martha said at the sight of her cheeks suddenly draining of color.

"Take her home, take them both home," Beckett replied, kissing Eliza's cheek. "Lock the doors and please keep them safe," she said before she was whirling around and running to the van where everyone was standing outside of.

"Why isn't Daddy here too?" Julia said, completely confused as Alexis took her by the hand and Jim was carrying their little sister. "And wait, why don't we stay to wait for him to come out?"

"We need to go Jules," Alexis replied, her voice shaking a little that time as she was fighting her emotions. She wasn't too surprised to feel Julia pulling at her hand before saying a little sharply, "You heard your mom, you know she'd be mad to see us go back."

Though she knew her sister was right, Julia tried to get her hand out of Alexis' but when she looked back to find her mother, she froze. She didn't hear her big sister asking her what was wrong, instead watching as Beckett was putting a holstered gun on her hip. Tears quickly blurred her vision and she allowed herself to be led away as she hoped that her mother was going to be able to get to Castle.

"Ms. Beckett," the taller agent said when she had reached them at the van. "You're-"

"Have the blinds moved at all?" Beckett interrupted him.

"Not that we've seen," Bernier replied.

"Then they're gone," Beckett replied.

"How?" the agent snapped. "This place is covered; the SWAT team has been surrounding the school's property. If they left, we would have known about it."

"What about getting in contact with them?" Brad then said.

"No answer," the other agent replied.

"Can you see anyone in there?" the chief asked, stepping around the shorter agent and standing next to Beckett. At the agents' shaking of their heads he said, "Then we need to get in."

"We can't run in, your husband-" the taller agent started to say, looking at Beckett as he spoke.

"He told our youngest he was probably going to be taken," she said simply and in a clipped tone of voice.

"You-" the tall agent began.

"God damn it Wise," the shorter agent said. "You know we've been trying to call and looking at the window, there's no answer and no movement. We go in."

"Then if your husband-" Wise began.

"He's not there," Beckett and Brad said at the same time.

"She's giving permission," the other agent said to his partner.

"Kate," Brad said, turning to her and holding out her weapon. "I had a feeling," he said with a shrug as she was looking at him in slight surprise.

Beckett took the gun and attached it to her hip before Wise started speaking, instructing her in what to do. When he went on for what she felt like was far too long, she rolled her eyes and said, "I know, I used to be NYPD."

"And you're not now, stay to the back," Wise replied. "We'll take the lead, SWAT is staying back. Hutchinson, Bernier and Wade; you'll take the rear for us once we're inside as SWAT will cover us out here. You," he then told Brad. "You're watching her since you seem to think she needs to be here."

The chief clenched his jaw before saying, "Yes sir." He then waited for everyone to go ahead of them before saying to Beckett, "Go ahead," under his breath. When she looked at him; but still went in front of him; he told her in the same tone, "Hard to keep an eye on you when you're behind me."

Beckett nodded but kept her gaze ahead of them as the agents were standing on either side of the door to the elementary school, calling inside before Wise disappeared into the darkness. She waited for shots but when there was nothing but silence and as the other agent followed his partner in she felt her heart pounding since she knew already what they were going to find; or not find; once inside.

The calls of clear from the two agents and three officers echoed up and down the hall, before Brad nodded Beckett over to the classroom where the students, teachers and Castle had been held. He went inside first as she covered him but quickly lowered his gun as the room was empty. "They're- wait!" he said as Beckett pushed past him and ran to the small room in between that classroom and the next.

"Ms. Beckett," Agent Wise said as he came into the room in time to see her disappearing.

Beckett had seen the open trap door in the floor from where she'd been standing and she hurried down the steps there without a thought as to what she was going to do about the absolute black underneath. She started to run but once she got past the square of light from the room above she stopped and then saw a beam of light shining in front of her. "Thanks, I-" she started to say as she reached out to the flashlight Brad was holding before he pulled back.

"I'll lead, you cover me," Brad told her a little sternly.

"Fine," Beckett said a little angrily. "Let's go."

Not surprised at her tone, Brad walked ahead of her with the light shining down the path that seemed to keep going in front of them. He was quiet as they walked; not surprised when Beckett was too; but there was nothing but the sound of their footsteps on the dirt floor.

Beckett wasn't sure how long they walked but at one point she heard people behind them; guessing it was the agents and the officers. She ignored Wise's calls for them to come back and regroup with them as at nearly the same time when they spoke she and Brad could see the light of day ahead of them. She had to keep herself from pushing past the chief to see where they were going to end up and luckily managed to do so before they were at the bottom of a steep set of stairs.

Holding his weapon to the open door, Brad motioned for Beckett to remain at the bottom of the staircase as he headed up. He blinked in the bright light pouring on him and then put down the gun when he saw where they were. "Kate," he said, turning to her.

Racing up, Beckett stepped out into a field and she looked around to get her bearings before she recognized where that field was, two blocks from the school. "He's gone," she whispered, the breeze tugging at her hair and coat as she looked at the myriad of footprints in the snow leading away from the shed that concealed the staircase down. There was a set of footprints that disappeared after the first imprint and she knew they were Castle's from the shape of them. She vaguely heard Brad turning back to the others approaching them as she started to run. When she reached the street at the opposite end of the field she saw no sign of where the owners of the other footprints had gone from there and she turned to Brad who was walking up to her.

"They… want you to go home," the chief said slowly. "They think you'll be getting a ransom call soon."

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead turning to start running in whatever direction she should think of before she was suddenly grabbed by the arm. "Let me go I need-" she started to say.

"You need to get home Kate," Brad told her firmly. "We'll look for him and you'll be more help waiting for a call for him. Plus Wise is coming right now to drag you away; I can't let him do that."

About to open her mouth and protest, Beckett finally stopped and then stepped around him to walk back to the staircase as she saw the FBI agents and other officers glance up from the footprints to watch her pass. She hurried through the underground passage, with each step becoming more determined than before to do whatever she was going to have to do to find her husband and bring him safely home to her and their family.


	11. Looking For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is the title of a song by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, from Paul's Young Boy single.

Glancing up as his daughter walked into the house, Jim said, "The FBI agent is here," a little hesitantly.

"They can wait," Beckett replied as she tossed all her outer layers onto the bench next to the closet. She was about to walk away from him but then paused and turned to him saying, "Did they say if anything new came in?"

"I'm afraid not. Katie-" Jim started to say.

"I need to see the girls," Beckett interrupted him. "I'll talk to the agent in a second," she said, waiting for her father to nod before she turned and walked to the family room.

Her arms wrapped around her little sister tightly; Julia moved her head to rest her chin on top of Eliza's head. "It's okay," she whispered, trying to comfort her though she wasn't really that comforted with her own words herself.

"I want Daddy," Eliza sobbed softly.

"Me too," Julia whispered before she hugged the toddler tightly. She then noticed some kind of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned saying, "Mommy is…"

Forcing herself to walk to them as the girls stared at her with wide eyes; Beckett knelt in front of them and cupped their cheeks at the same time. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, feeling tears prick the backs of her eyes as the two started to cry almost instantly.

"Daddy's gone?" Eliza whispered.

Getting up, Beckett sat on the couch and brought her youngest to her lap and held Julia tightly against her side. She was about to speak when she noticed that there were figures in the doorway and saw that it was her dad, Alexis and mother in law. She wasn't surprised to see her stepdaughter had been crying at some point and Martha was drying off her cheeks. "He is but you know that I'm going to help the police to get him back home," she said. She took a deep breath and then said, "I want him home too."

Turning her head to press her cheek against her mother's shoulder, Julia whispered, "Who took him? Why? Why did they have to go to the school?"

Not too surprised that Julia was asking that, Beckett turned and kissed her forehead before she whispered to her, "We need to find out. But first you know that your daddy loves you and he'll try to come back home if he can."

"We do," Julia assured her. "So you're gonna work?"

"That's what I was going to tell you two next," Beckett replied with a nod. "But you have your grandparents and sister here with you," she said, looking at them in the doorway. When they nodded she said, "They'll take care of you."

"Katie," Jim said then as the girls turned to her, hugging her tightly. "The FBI agent."

"They can come in," Beckett said with a nod.

"Do we have to go?" Julia asked.

"Not yet," Beckett replied before she looked up as footsteps neared the doorway; which Martha and Alexis had left at some point. When the person appeared she wasn't quite sure if it happened but could have sworn her mouth dropped open in shock as she said, "Sorenson?"

"Hey… Beckett," Sorenson said, looking at the two girls holding onto her tightly and looking at him closely. He was a little surprised at some hostility in the oldest's eyes but then said, "I need to talk with you about…"

"They're aware," Beckett said simply. "Dad?" she called before he came into the room. She turned to her daughters and told them, "This is where I start to help okay?" When they nodded she smiled and leaned over whispering, "I love you two so much."

"Love you Mommy," Julia said.

"Love you too," Eliza said before her mother stood and carried her to Jim. She glanced over at the man they passed and then turned to her grandfather as she was transferred over to him.

Reaching out to hug his daughter with one arm, Jim murmured, "Will you be okay?"

"As long as we find Rick," Beckett replied firmly, though under her breath so her ex wouldn't hear. When she'd shared a kiss with both her daughters, she turned and said, "Is anyone setting up a trace?"

"Yeah they are, out in Castle's office," Sorenson replied.

"Our office," Beckett corrected him automatically. "You can sit," she said then told him, holding her hand out towards an armchair.

"You know all this already," Sorenson said once they were both sitting, facing each other. "So I don't think I need to ask."

"There's no one I can think of that would want to kidnap him," Beckett replied. "And since there hasn't been a phone call yet for ransom, I'm assuming you're starting to think it wasn't done for money."

"No, now my partner is talking to the teachers and principal to see how anyone could have found out about your husband being there at the school today," Sorenson said. "Do you know if it was announced on the website for the school, or a pamphlet…"

"There's a newsletter that's sent home with the students at the start of each month," Beckett replied. "And they have the special guest readers listed for that month."

"Nothing online?" Sorenson asked. When she shook her head in response he then said, "Then let me ask you about your work with the Hamptons PD."

"Oh… wait," Beckett said in sudden recollection. Seeing the agent looking at her questioningly she said, "This case… let me call the chief."

Sorenson was going to protest but before he could Beckett was on the phone and walking over to the window. He stood up himself and waited for her to finish before saying, "Is the case still open?"

"It is and Brad is nearly on his way here," Beckett replied, leaning back against the window as he walked to her. "So I'll let him explain what's going on."

"Okay, then let me ask a more… personal question," Sorenson said. When she started to give him a look he said swiftly, "Concerning the kidnapping. Do you know of any ex-boyfriends that would want to harm him?"

"When I said that there was no one I knew of that would want to kidnap Rick, I meant it," Beckett said. She then thought of Tyson but she knew there would have been some kind of message to her by then about that.

At that moment, Brad walked into the room and when he saw Beckett talking to the agent she'd told him about he took off his hat and said, "Anything?"

"I want him to know about this," Beckett told Sorenson when he began to speak, knowing he was going to protest the chief being involved.

With a slight nod the agent began to speak, asking about the hostage situation at the school in more detail before he said, "I'm trying to discern who might want to kidnap him and she mentioned the case you're currently on."

"Yeah, she said," Brad replied before telling him about it. "So we don't have the orchestrator of all this and we're having a hard time locating him."

"There's nothing to indicate who he might be," Sorenson replied.

"Nothing except the hospital in Buffalo," Brad replied.

"Were you ever able to get the warrant for the patient list?" Beckett asked him.

"No," Brad said with a sigh. "Judge Carpenter said that since we had the word of a woman who is… basically insane, there was no cause to grant it."

"The hospital must have contacted her," Beckett said.

"You think the administrator was involved," Brad asked.

"If you had your hands full with an investigation into Rick," Beckett said. "Then they could have thought we'd close the case and leave it at Palmer."

"They could have but we looked into the staff," Brad replied a little grimly.

"Everyone?" Beckett said.

"Everyone, from the administrator to the aides," Brad said. "We were looking at that last night."

"We could have helped you," Beckett pointed out before she remembered that the chief had made sure she and Castle could make it to Julia's class. And with the look on Brad's face she could see he'd recalled as well.

"Kate-" the chief started to say.

Shaking her head, Beckett then said, "And no one stood out?"

"Not that we could find," Brad replied. "We took a close look at the doctors, a hunch, but there was nothing to find."

"Nothing in their pasts, no criminal records?" Beckett inquired.

"Not that we could see," Brad said simply.

"And did they have any kind of connection to Castle?" Sorenson said.

"Not that I would know," Brad said. He then reached into his pocket and said, "I had been wondering about that so I brought this for you," as he handed Beckett a folded piece of paper.

Reading the list of names as quickly as she could, Beckett shook her head and said, "I'm not seeing a name he may have mentioned in the past. But if there was a name from before we met he would have recognized I don't know. Hold on." She then stepped out to the hall and seeing Martha and Alexis in the kitchen she hurried to them.

"Did you hear from the kidnappers?" Castle's mother said, looking to her as she heard her walking over to them.

"No, can you look and see if you recognize anyone on this list," Beckett asked, looking up at Alexis to indicate she meant for her to look as well.

Looking over her grandmother's shoulder, Alexis shook her head saying, "I'm sorry I've never seen any of those names before."

"Neither have I," Martha said. "Are these people suspects?"

Before Beckett could respond to that, the phone suddenly rang and Sorenson asked, "Do you recognize the number?"

"No," Beckett said. When the agents around the island nodded to her to pick up the phone she did so quickly, wondering if they were finally going to have a lead on the kidnappers. "Hello?" she asked.

"Yes, this is Lawrence Russell from the _Hamptons Report_ ," the man on the other end said. "I'm wondering if-"

"I'm sorry Mr. Russell," Beckett interrupted him quickly as she felt a rush of frustration. "You're tying up the line." When she hung up she said, "Do you need me right now?"

"Not at the moment," Sorenson replied.

"What are you going to do now?" Beckett asked Brad as she motioned him with her to the stairs.

"Well with nothing coming in about the orchestrator," the chief replied. "I was about to offer the help of the PD to the FBI." When they got to the bottom of the staircase he said, "Who is that guy?"

"Sorenson?" Beckett asked, trying to buy some time with that pointless question.

"An ex?" Brad asked instead of answering as he'd been able to see the question for what it was quickly. At her nod he then said, "Any kind of…"

Wondering why he'd trailed off, Beckett turned around and saw said ex walking up to them. "You found something?" she asked.

"No, one thing I needed to ask," Sorenson replied. "Another personal question, a lot more," he said before glancing at the chief.

"Go ahead," Beckett told him with a nod.

Sorenson took a few more seconds to speak, still looking at Brad, but when the chief didn't move he finally turned to Beckett and said, "How was the marriage between you and Castle going lately?"

"Are you saying he might have had an affair?" she said, uncrossing her arms and straightening up slightly in her stance.

"I had the thought that it might have been a jealous husband or boyfriend," Sorenson replied.

"Then you're not aware of their marriage," Brad said. "Obviously. I can vouch for Rick."

"You're his friend and colleague so I can't really take that into account," Sorenson replied.

"Then you should take mine," Beckett said, stepping closer to the agent, her eyes narrowed at him. "There has not been a night when I haven't known where my husband was. There hasn't been a moment where I thought he was being unfaithful to me. And if that's your method of investigation, I would suggest you look into any possible crazed fans. Or else the person who was orchestrating the case we were investigating. But do not suggest my husband was cheating on me because you will be wasting time in getting him back home." And with that she turned around saying, "I'll be with my daughters, if there's a call I'll come down."

"Nice," Brad said when he and Sorenson were alone.

"You're an investigator," the agent said a little defensively. "You know I have to look at every avenue I can."

"But really, an affair?" Brad said simply.

"It was possible to me, I don't know how close they are," Sorenson replied, irritation in his tone. "When I last saw the two together she was always pushing him away."

"Yeah, how long ago was that?" Brad said. When the man hesitated he said, "Great boyfriend you must have been." He shook his head and said, "Her husband's kidnapped and you say hey, maybe he was cheating on you."

Sorenson was about to shoot a retort to the chief's back but his phone rang then and he answered it quickly before ducking into the hall that led to the door to the back.

Upstairs Beckett wasn't surprised to see her father with the girls on Julia's bed, trying to speak to them. When she stepped into the room she wasn't surprised to see that her father looked up questioningly before she shook her head slightly. "I wanted to see you two," she said as Julia and then Eliza glanced up to see her. She went to the bed and took them into her arms, hugging them as tightly as she could.

"I'll get something to drink," Jim said, leaning over and kissing his granddaughters' foreheads. He placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder and when she smiled momentarily up at him he left but not before hearing Eliza asking her mother if Castle was home yet.

"Not yet," Beckett said gently as she took the toddler back onto her lap. She leaned down, kissing the top of her head and murmuring, "We're trying though."

"Mommy, who was that man?" Julia then asked when they'd been silent. She'd been enjoying the feel of her mother's hand stroking her hair but had to ask the question as it had been irritating her for a while by then.

"He's with the FBI," Beckett said simply as she hoped; though didn't expect; Julia wouldn't ask anything else.

"And he knows you," the little girl replied simply. "And I think he knows Daddy too doesn't he?"

Beckett was about to answer in a nonchalant way but seeing the determined look on Julia's face she knew she wasn't going to be able to get away with that. Sighing she said simply, "You know that your daddy isn't the only man I dated-"

"He's your ex boyfriend," Julia stated simply before her mother could continue.

"He was," Beckett replied. "But he's only here because he works on kidnappings, not because he was trying to see me again."  
"He's not married," Julia replied. "How do you know he's not going to try to… kiss you?"

"I wouldn't let him if he was," Beckett said firmly as she'd been able to hear the slight panic creeping into her daughter's tone of voice. "You know I love your daddy, very much."

"She does," Eliza said to her sister.

Leaning down, Beckett kissed the top of the toddler's head and murmured a thank you before saying, "He was sent here to work on the case okay? So don't worry about him."

"I won't… but can you promise not to talk to him by yourself again?" Julia asked.

"I'll try," Beckett said. "But if we're doing something to get your daddy back I might need to." She then rubbed their arms and said, "I know you both are very scared but we should be finding out something very soon."

"Can I ask a question," Julia said.

"Yes, but I don't know if I can answer it," Beckett told her.

"I know," Julia replied. "What I was wondering Mommy, is how come no one saw Daddy coming out with the people who had guns?"

Looking down at Eliza, Beckett was a little surprised to see that the toddler was looking up at her slightly questioningly too and she hoped that night she wouldn't be having nightmares. "There was an old underground tunnel system from the property before," she said; having been told that by Bernier who'd accompanied her home at Brad's insistence. "When it use to be a farm." Seeing both her daughters were looking at her with perplexed expressions on their faces she said, "So the farmer could go to his animals without going into the snow."

"Oh, so they had to find out about that," Julia said.

Laughing softly; that containing a hint of tears; Beckett said, "You sound like your daddy and I during a case."

"She did, I agree," a voice said suddenly from the doorway.  
"Auntie Lanie!" Julia cried, Eliza squealing the same just after her. She jumped off the bed, running to her and hugging her tightly before she started to cry.

"Hey, how're they doing?" Ryan asked, stepping up behind the doctor and Julia.

"Come in guys," Beckett said, relieved to see them there. "Hey Espo."

"Okay?" Esposito asked with a nod as he smiled a little at Eliza's wave to him.

"As much as I can be," Beckett replied, not surprised when he nodded in understanding. "Are they letting you help?"

"Yeah… when Sorenson saw us he was pretty eager," Ryan replied. "He would have kicked out Brad if we hadn't insisted we'd probably need all the help we can get."

"I get the feeling the chief annoyed him," Esposito said, watching as Eliza was set down by Lanie and went to hug Ryan and him as well.

"More than likely," Beckett said with a brief smile. "He was defending Rick for me. Girls-"

"Do you think; before we head back down to the investigation," Ryan said quickly to interrupt her. "We could talk to our nieces?"

"Yeah, we'd love to see if they're alright," Esposito said.

Nodding gratefully at the two as she knew what they were doing, Beckett went to her daughters and said, "Stay with your uncles and I'll come back to you." At their nods she kissed their cheeks before she then left with Lanie, going down the stairs. As soon as they were inside the family room she hugged her friend tightly whispering, "I never thought I'd have to go through this again."

"I know, it's why I came though Javi thoughtfully pointed out to me that I wasn't going to be much help," Lanie replied. She pulled away and said, "So I heard your ex saying there was nothing."

"Absolutely nothing," Beckett said with a sigh as she sat on the couch with her friend. "I'm worried because at this point there hasn't been a call; there should have been."

"Yeah… there has to be a call, maybe they're just making you think that they're not going to so you'll be prepared to pay more," Lanie said, squeezing her friend's hand.

"I hope," Beckett said, not having thought of that. She bit her lower lip and said, "I talked with our accountant as soon as I was in the car to come back home."  
"Could you afford to pay?" Lanie asked in slight surprise hearing that.

"We can but only to a certain amount," Beckett replied. "I'm afraid that they're going to exploit our relationship."

"Well…" Lanie began to say in some confusion.

"Not just the basic relationship we have," Beckett told her hurriedly. "There've been articles about us in the papers here and in the city; mostly here. And the man I spoke to in the school earlier…"

"Do I want to hear about that?" Lanie asked gently.

Beckett sighed and told her friend that quickly before she sat back against the couch saying, "I realized something." Seeing the doctor was looking at her questioningly she said, "I've taken him for granted."

"Oh Kate, you-" Lanie began.

Quick to interrupt her, Beckett told her about their argument ending with, "We made up but I realized that I always assumed he'd be there. And now with him gone I find myself in the same place I was when we were in Canada."

Putting her hand on her back; as Beckett had told her about their trip north and her thinking her husband had been dead; Lanie said, "Just work with Sorenson and get him back."

"That's going to be the interesting part," Beckett said before she heard multiple footsteps on the stairs. "But for now I'll focus on the girls; I know Rick would want me to." And with that she stood and went to the doorway, taking Julia and Eliza into her arms as they rushed into her embrace.

"We'll be talking to Sorenson," Ryan said, watching the scene with the others.

"Yeah, we'll let you know if anything comes up," Esposito added before they left.

Taking the girls into the family room, Beckett said, "Can you two stay with your aunt?"

Before Julia or Eliza could open their reply to that there was a knock on the door to the back and they both jumped, the latter bursting into tears.

" _Easy_ ," Beckett said, not sure why she had suddenly slipped into Irish. "It's just Rebecca, you don't recognize her knock?" she said as she picked Eliza up.

"Is it?" the toddler asked tearfully though she was rubbing her hand on her cheeks.

"Come on," Beckett said, holding her hand out to Julia, whom she could see was anxious as well. She led her over to the door where they saw that it was Rebecca; with Mari; and she had her oldest open the door. "I'm surprised you got in," she commented as they watched their daughters hug before she had to set Eliza down, the toddler wriggling in her hold.

"David came over," Rebecca replied.

"And Dani?" Beckett asked.

"She's fine, he's watching her," Rebecca replied. "I came over to lend my support if you need me too. Hey Lanie, I didn't know you were here."

"She came for the same reason," Beckett said, not surprised Rebecca was a little hesitant.

"Anything?" Rebecca asked quietly as they watched the three girls talking next to them.

"No, Lanie, could you…?" Beckett asked, a little guilty asking her first.

"We can both keep an eye on them," Rebecca said quickly as she was able to guess the reason for Beckett's unease. "Come on girls, why don't we do something while we're waiting?"

"Like what?" Julia asked, looking at her mother.

"Color something," Beckett said. "For your daddy when he gets home, okay?" Her heart broke a little when both her daughters just barely nodded their heads once and she watched Lanie pick up Eliza before they left her. She glanced outside; not really seeing anything; before she felt something wet and cold pressing into the palm of her hand. "Go outside Macca," she said, opening the door for him. She was a little surprised when he didn't budge from her side and she closed the door when the doorbell at the front was rung. She was just about to turn to go and answer it when Brad appeared.

"It's Wade, they've finished the canvas," the chief said before he was hurrying to the door behind Sorenson and the boys, Beckett behind him. "What've you got?" he asked his officer after the others had let Beckett open her door.

"Since it was early in the day not a lot of people in their homes or out in the neighborhood but there were a few that had heard about what had happened at the school and looked out to see a van parked down the street from the field where we all came out of," Wade replied.

"And they're sure this had to do with the kidnapping," Sorenson said.

"After the kids were released these witnesses saw a group of men going down the sidewalk to it," Wade replied. "Seven of them."

"Were they carrying the seventh?" Esposito asked, glancing at Beckett as the other men were as well.

"No he was upright but one witness saw his head bowed down so…" Wade replied, not looking at Beckett.

"So they drugged him," she said, trying not to be annoyed at all four men walking on eggshells with the subject. "And dragged him away but I wasn't able to see his footprints past the set right outside the shed where the stairs were."

"Then they might have carried him," Brad said. "Until the sidewalk, they might have thought to keep us from discovering he was with them."

"So they're professionals," Beckett mused. "But the snow and the people at home they hadn't planned for. What about the van?"

"It was a white business van," Wade answered quickly. "And one of the witnesses looked for a license plate but…"

"Did you call in to see if anyone's missing a van like that in town?" Brad asked quickly.

"Yes sir, Hutchinson said she would call you once she'd looked into that fully," Wade replied. "But it might not be from here."

"That we knew," Sorenson said with a sigh. "Alright, Beckett," he said, turning to her. "At this point I don't think we're going to be getting a phone call."

"You mean me," Beckett replied firmly. "And you're right, I'm not. So what are you planning on doing?"

"Do you want to go to the media-" Sorenson started to say.

"No," Beckett interrupted him. "Absolutely not." She saw that her ex looked like he was about to protest so she added, "They're not going to want the media attention and if they feel-"

"Then why did they kidnap him?" Sorenson asked. "Look, K…" he began to say when he saw the withering look on Brad's face and he trailed off. "Is there anyone in your past; from your cases at the NYPD; that might have reason to want to harm him?'

Glancing at the boys, Beckett then said when they shook their heads no to her unasked question about the possibility of it being Tyson or an adherent, "I'm not entirely sure, we did investigate a number of cases and garnered a number of people who could have."

"Then can you two look back at their cases with her?" Sorenson asked Esposito and Ryan. "And try to find who would have motive and opportunity."

"We can handle that on our own," Ryan said, looking to Beckett. When she nodded very slightly he then said, "What about their cases here?"

"We already cleared that, except for our current one," Brad put in then.

"I wish you two could have looked into the hospital up in Buffalo we found," Beckett then said.

"We still can," Esposito said.

"Karpowski?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she said, "Ask her." With that she then turned to Brad and said, "What about NYC?"

"In what context?" the chief asked, wondering what she was thinking with that.

"Palmer, Hines and Bowen," Beckett said. She saw the chief still looked confused before his eyes suddenly widened slightly and he nodded.

"One of you needs to contact Health and Human Services in the city, see if you can find out if those three ever passed through the system," Brad told Esposito and Ryan.

"Why don't you leave that for me?" Sorenson said, not startled when the others all looked at him in slight surprise; as if they'd forgotten he was there.

Watching him walk away to the kitchen Esposito said, "Yeah, jealous."

"Come on," Ryan said, taking his partner's arm and going after the agent.

"How can you be helping with this?" Beckett asked Brad as she turned to him.

"Well, since the paperwork for the hostage situation is with the FBI I have the time," Brad said. "And I think you and I are in agreement it's got to be the orchestrator."

"Of course but they're going to want to look into everything before they settle on that idea," Beckett replied. "Since of course we don't have any evidence of that." She opened her mouth to speak before pausing and then finally said, "Do you think all of this was just to get him while he was at the school?"

"I would say it was insane but considering the players in this… yeah, it seems more likely," Brad agreed with a frown. "But why kill the vics and not just wait for him to be taken?"

"A distraction," Beckett replied though she was frowning herself then as she thought of that in more detail. "We were likely being stalked, they were familiarizing themselves with our routine and how we acted. And they wanted to see us solve the case because…" There she had to pause as she wasn't sure of the reason for that besides as a distraction but even that seemed tenuous as an explanation.

"We'll have to wait and get more to see if we're even right," Brad replied. They both then turned to the kitchen where they could hear Sorenson on the phone with someone, talking in a rushed voice.

Sharing a look with the chief, Beckett followed him to the agent as he hung up his phone. "A clue?" she asked.

"Someone calling in anonymously," Sorenson replied. "He saw someone in a white van-"

"How did they know about the van?" Brad asked, able to tell that Beckett had been about to ask the same thing.

"It got leaked to the news," Ryan said, hanging up his phone. "Karpowski saw it on the news back in the city while I was talking to her."

"Don't look at me!" Brad said angrily as the agent turned to him. "My people-"

Putting her hand on his chest to keep him from rushing Sorenson, Beckett said, "His people are reliable, it's more than likely that the witness told someone before Wade and the others went through the area to canvas; they leaked it. What else did they see?"

Watching as the chief stepped back from Beckett, Sorenson continued with, "They saw it going down Red Pier Lane and it had no license plates."

"That's them," Beckett immediately said, Brad nodding in agreement with her.

"Do you know the area it went?" Sorenson asked, seeing Esposito and Ryan seemed to be wondering the same as he was.

"Yeah, it's a cul-de-sac," Brad replied. "There are two houses there, abandoned. I think David's got them marked for demolition."

"So obviously they're not historical buildings," Beckett said. When the chief shook his head she said, "How well known are the buildings through the rest of the Hamptons?"

"If you know about them-" Esposito started to say.

"I'm a local by now," Beckett reminded him. "So everyone does here."

"And I'm pretty sure any satellite images on search engines would show that they're abandoned," Brad told them all. "The area's run down, one of the houses has large hole in the roof."

"That doesn't narrow down if they have Rick there or not," Beckett said. "They could be keeping him away from that and still in the house."

"That would be my assumption," Sorenson replied. "But we're going to have to substantiate this tip, my partner is coming right now and I'll send him out to look."

"And you-" Brad began to say before he felt Beckett squeeze his shoulder. When she shook her head slightly he rolled his eyes but kept quiet, watching the agent take his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Yeah, I know you don't like him but he's trying to find Rick," Beckett said. "Try not to kill him or hurt him." When the corner of Brad's mouth quirked up into what she guessed was a half smile she then said, "Call me if anything comes up."

"Think you shouldn't just stay with them?" Ryan asked.

"No I need to be involved," Beckett said before the detective nodded slightly in understanding. She walked over to the family room, seeing the three girls at the coffee table coloring furiously. She was relieved that her daughters seemed to be relatively okay for the moment and she stood in the doorway until she felt a hand on her shoulder, jumping slightly.

"Still nothing?" Martha asked, Alexis and Jim with her.

"I'm afraid not," Beckett replied, keeping her voice low as well. "But there may be a lead; we just need to check on it first."

Studying his daughter, Jim could see the strain on her face and told her, "Do you think you should be so involved in this?"

"I'm fine," Beckett assured her, knowing he was worried about her. "I just need him home."

"I'll agree with you there," Martha said. She then pursed her lips for a moment and said, "And should you find where he is, will you be joining the authorities?"

Beckett didn't react to that vocally, only nodding her head once before she stepped into the room fully since Eliza had noticed her and was running to her. "Sweetie, how is your coloring going?" she asked her, kissing her forehead.

"Kay," the toddler replied, sounding miserable. "What about night?"

Seeing that their mother looked a little confused at that, Julia explained, "She's scared for night to come without Daddy here too."

"It'll be okay," Beckett quickly reassured her. "We'll be safe here."

"Daddy," Eliza said in protest, tears in her eyes.

At that Beckett found she had no idea what to say in reply and she merely kissed the side of her daughter's head before going to the couch next to Lanie and sitting. The room fell silent then, even the two older girls stopping their coloring to go to her and Rebecca. She looked down at Eliza until something started to clench in her chest. She kissed the toddler's cheek and murmured to her before getting up and leaving.

"Kate?" "Kate," Lanie and then Rebecca said as they jumped up in response to that.

Beckett walked outside, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked out on the ocean, taking some deep breaths. She had felt a sudden frustration at not being able to do anything in finding Castle and had left since she'd been afraid she'd vocalize it and scare her daughters.

"Is she okay?" Ryan asked inside with his partner, Brad, Lanie and Rebecca as they watched Beckett outside walk to the left. When he got no answer he looked over at the others to see they were staring at him before he said, "Not that, just is she sad or angry."

"Frustrated," Rebecca, Lanie and Brad said.

"How do you know her that well?" Esposito asked the chief.

"It doesn't matter; shouldn't one of you go to her?" Brad said, before directing the question to Lanie and Rebecca.

"I think you need to in this case," Lanie said.

"I agree, it'd be better if you spoke with her, since you have more authority and you're Rick's friend," Rebecca told him.

"Come out to get us in case," Brad said simply before he stepped out of the door.

"Javi, get that look off your face," Lanie said sternly as she turned to him. "She works with him now so obviously she's going to be friends with him."

"And he is Castle's friend like she said," Ryan pointed out. "Come on, we need to get back to their cases," he told his partner before they went back to the kitchen.

"You want to go," Brad said as he approached Beckett who was in the gazebo.

"If you hadn't taken the gun from me I would have left as soon as he said the name of the street," Beckett replied simply. "But no, I'll stay until we have confirmation."

"He was still in the kitchen trying to get it," Brad said as he could tell she was asking something with her eyes.

"I figured," Beckett said. She sighed and said, "If this was the orchestrator…" She stopped herself and then said, "I keep going back to that. But I have to be the target."

"Yeah I thought so and I think everyone's thinking the same but we're just not saying it," Brad replied.

"Which is a surprise since Sorenson loves to look at every angle in these cases which has been said already of course," Beckett said, starting to pace.

"Can you think of someone?" Brad asked, thinking that was why she was doing that.

"Not really," Beckett said hesitantly. "I wasn't kidding, Rick and I solved so many cases that it's going to take the boys a while to get through them all."

"What about before you met him?" Brad then inquired.

Beckett opened her mouth to tell him no but then realized with a start that he had a point. She sat down quickly, thinking about her cases from that moment; before and after.

Watching her, Brad waited patiently, knowing that she'd had a number of cases to remember until she finally shook her head. "Really," he stated.

"They're either in jail or dead," Beckett said simply. "You're the same way," she told him then as she stood back up. "You keep up with past killers to make sure they're not going to come after you."

"But every single one?" Brad asked.

Rubbing her face with her hands Beckett said, "I should be looking at the cases myself."

"I'll help with those you had before you met Rick," Brad told her before he walked with her back to the house.

As soon as they were inside, Beckett could hear there was some kind of commotion coming from the kitchen and sharing a look with the chief they jogged around to it, seeing that Sorenson was on the phone while Esposito was abruptly halting their run towards them. "You found him," she said.

"No but we got confirmation on the house, the van is there and there's movement inside," Esposito said. "We're going right now."

Turning to Brad, Beckett said, "I need my gun and vest."

"No you don't," Sorenson said, making her whirl around to face him.

"Yes I do because I'm going with you," Beckett said firmly.

"Kate-" Sorenson started to say.

"Do you have enough people to go in?" Beckett asked, directing that to Brad instead of her ex.

"No, we don't," the chief replied.

"Chief Davis," Sorenson said. "You're not seriously going to allow a civilian go into a-"

"She's not a civilian, not with that gun," Brad replied.

"She's deputized," Sorenson stated.

"Every time he gives it to me," Beckett said.

"I'll keep her with me and we'll stick together towards the back," Brad then added.

"Fine but she's your responsibility," Sorenson told the chief. When the man saluted and Beckett turned away he said to Ryan and Esposito, "You couldn't-"

"Do you not remember how she is?" Esposito asked. "And it's dealing with her husband."

"I wouldn't get in her way," Ryan said before they went down the hall to get ready to leave.

Sorenson watched Beckett disappearing into the family room and he nodded, though he was alone, before he headed outside himself to finalize the plans to breach the house where they suspected her husband was being kept.

"What happened?" Julia asked her mother as she came into the room.

"I need to go with your uncles and the FBI to see if maybe we can find your daddy," Beckett told them.

Looking a little stricken, Julia hurried to her mother and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to the doorway.

"What?" Beckett asked, becoming concerned at the expression on her daughter's face.

"I heard you talking with that man," Julia replied. "And you said gun and vest. You're going somewhere dangerous."

"Julia-" Beckett started to say.

"No! You are," the little girl protested. "You're going to go and get hurt or you're gonna get kidnapped too. Those men had guns!"

When Julia's expression turned to anger; her cheeks flushed red; Beckett tried to speak when her daughter stomped her foot on the floor.

"You can't get hurt!" Julia said. When she saw how surprised her mother was at that, she burst into tears and wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"Sweetie," Beckett began, hugging her back as she gently stroked her hair. "I can't just stay here, if there's a chance I can help them get him back safely you know I need to go."

"I know, I'm sorry but I don't want anything to happen to you too," Julia said before faltering as her little sister ran over then.

"I'll be careful, I know you two will want us to come home safely," Beckett assured her as her mother in law and stepdaughter joined them then. "Your gram and Alexis will watch you okay? Listen to them and I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Kiss goodnight?" Eliza asked, not sure why her mother was saying goodbye but having a feeling something was wrong after her sister had burst into tears.

"Just in case I don't make it in time," Beckett told them. She shared a kiss with her youngest twice saying, "One of those is from your daddy and we love you both, so much Eliza."

"Love you Mommy, say to Daddy too," the toddler replied, becoming teary herself as she didn't like having to use her mother as a go between to say that.

Kissing Eliza's cheek, Beckett turned to Julia, sharing two kisses with her before she said, "We love you too Julia, so much."

"I love you both too," the little girl replied, feeling very anxious as her mother hugged her and her sister.

"Be careful," Alexis said.

Nodding, Beckett squeezed her daughter in law's hand as Martha had suddenly hugged her. "I told them, I'll make sure I get back safely," she assured them as she hugged her father, knowing he was concerned with the way he embraced her. "Lanie…"

"Yeah, we've got everything set girl, go," the doctor said.

"Thank you Rebecca," Beckett then told her friend. At her nod she turned and kissed the tops of her daughters' heads before hurrying out to the front where Brad was reaching into his trunk. "Sorry, I had to say goodnight to them," she explained her delay as she took her vest he'd taken out and handed to her.

"Not a problem," the chief said simply. "Sorenson just heard from his partner, lights are starting to go on inside on the lower floor."

"Which house?" Beckett asked.

Brad had to hold off on answering as they got into his cruiser but once they were following her ex down the driveway he said, "The one with the roof still intact. And if you're going to ask about the other, there's no basement in that one and no kind of movement."

"No basement?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"It doesn't, which makes no sense," Brad replied with a shrug. "Likely why people didn't stay in them, I don't know."

Able to tell he was anxious, Beckett simply nodded, waiting uneasily as they drove north and then east, nearly into Southampton before they got to the road. When they parked a block away from the entrance to it she followed Brad to where Sorenson, the boys and a few other agents and officers were gathering around him.

"This is my partner Wainwright," the agent was saying. "You scoped it out?"

"Yeah, best way to get in is through the back door, the front is pretty solid still," the man said. "And I would suggest as many people as you can; the house is huge."

"Can you tell how many are in there?" Beckett asked after putting on her vest.

Glancing at her, Wainwright said, "At most, three."

"The rest might be in the basement with Castle," Ryan suggested.

"Then we'll find out now," Sorenson said before he started to instruct everyone where they needed to be when they reached the home. "I'm giving you one last chance Kate," he told her when the others had dispersed; except for his partner, Brad and the boys.

"And I'm telling you for the last time, I'm staying," Beckett replied simply. "Let's go, now." When Sorenson nodded, she took the gun that Brad handed to her and they waited for the others to split into two and then proceed to line up, going through the shadows to the road. Since the cul-de-sac was unlit they were able to reach the back of the house as there was nothing to block it from the street. She and the chief waited for Sorenson to kick open the door before Wainwright entered, announcing himself. She braced herself for the sound of shots fired but when there were none she glanced at Brad. He was already moving so she had to catch up with him which didn't take more than a few quick steps before they reached the doorway and went in with the chief last behind her.

The inside of the house was in a lot better shape than Beckett had expected in her first glance around what turned out to be the kitchen but she soon focused on the task of turning to the closed door the others ahead of them hadn't bothered to check on. "Brad," she said.

"Come on," the chief said, walking ahead of her into a dining room with a few mattresses inside it.

Beckett suddenly heard her name being called and she turned her head, seeing that there was a figure in the door, beckoning her. She only had a brief look at his face as he glanced to the side but she quickly recalled the same man in the kitchen of her home with his fellow FBI agents, so she went after the agent after calling to the chief. At the top of the stairs down to a dimly lit basement she hesitated and looked back to see Brad had disappeared.

"Ma'am?" the voice downstairs called urgently. "I have something."

Beckett had to hold onto the railing as the staircase was steep but soon made it to the ground and paused, seeing the room was empty. "Agent?" she asked before she was being grabbed from behind. She felt déjà vu for some inexplicable reason as she jammed her elbow back in response. But unlike what had happened to Palmer she was unable to make contact and found herself being tripped and shoved to the floor that she hit hard. Groaning as she tried to recover she saw her gun had was ahead of her; out of reach. She tried to stand when she was suddenly being pulled up by the back of her vest. She turned and tried to kick her attacker but he was able to duck and punched her in the face.

That time, Beckett had no chance to recover, as a large hand was slamming down onto her head and forcing it to turn to the left before she was reaching up and trying to claw at any bit of skin that she could find. But there was nothing but fabric and when she pushed herself up she found she couldn't move as her attacker was pressing his knee into her chest. When she tried to kick her leg up to at least drive her leg into him, she was stopped by the prick of a needle in her neck. She groaned as she felt whatever was in the syringe entering her and as soon as she felt the weight off her chest she jumped up.

But whatever it was that she'd been drugged with was quick and Beckett only had time to mouth her husband's name before she was collapsing to the ground. Just as the darkness of unconsciousness was beginning to take hold of her, she felt fingers brushing her hair away from her cheek before her attacker murmured, " _Georgiana_ …" and she slumped to the floor.

* * *

"Where the hell is Beckett?" Esposito said as they were regrouping downstairs.

"She was supposed to be with you," Sorenson said angrily as they looked around.

"Your agent called her to the basement," Brad said as he'd been talking to him.

"Did anyone go to the basement?" Wainwright yelled as all the agents were there.

Before anyone could answer and Ryan was checking downstairs to find it clear, there were some shouts and the sound of a car starting before tires squealed outside. At the sound of shots being fired, everyone ran out the front door in time for Wade and Kirby to yell that the van had suddenly turned on and left. With Esposito swearing bitterly, Sorenson and Brad glanced at each other, knowing that their kidnapper had just garnered a second victim.


	12. Fight At Your Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Calico Skies by Paul McCartney, from his album Flaming Pie.

The sound of arguing filled the house after an FBI agent that had remained at the house had opened the front door when they'd heard the sound of cars entering the driveway. Jim and Martha shared a glance before they hurried to the hall to see that Brad, Esposito, Ryan, Sorenson and another agent were entering the house. They both opened their mouths to speak when the agent closed the door and Jim spoke first, sounding furious.

"She's gone," he said.

Stopping at those words, the five men ceased speaking as they exchanged glances as if daring each other to reply to that.

"We… the kidnapper, or one of them," Brad managed to find the courage to say first. "Infiltrated the group of FBI agents and lured Beckett to the basement while we were going through the rest of the house."

"How did that happen?" Martha asked, hoping the girls wouldn't be able to hear them.

"We don't know," Sorenson replied. "But Beckett should-"

"Don't blame her," Esposito said angrily. "If she hadn't recognized him she wouldn't have followed him."

"Do you know what he looked like? Any of you? If you can identify him someone else can and lead you to him and to my daughter and son in law," Jim said.

"I can," Brad replied. "I caught a look at him before he disappeared."

"Where's Mommy?" a voice suddenly piped up from the doorway to the family room. When the adults all looked at her, Julia pushed away Lanie's hand on her shoulder and said when she didn't see her mother in the group, "She's gone isn't she?"

"Julia-" Jim started to say.

"No! I told her not to go but she had to find Daddy, I knew it was gonna happen," Julia said as she burst into tears. "I should have made her stay!" she nearly screamed. She ran for the stairs and the second she was in her room she threw herself on her bed, clutching her Stitch doll to her. Her tears were hot down her cheeks and she shook heavily as she couldn't stop thinking of her parents and if they were okay.

"Julia, honey?" Jim said, coming in then. He had grabbed Eliza as soon as Julia had left them and gone up to the room, knowing he needed to calm them down as the toddler was crying as well. He didn't know how Eliza had understood that her mother was gone too but she had and was at the moment inconsolable.

"I want them back," Julia whispered tearfully, turning onto her side and looking away from him.

"So do I," Jim replied, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. He reached over and ran his hand over his oldest granddaughter's hair saying, "They're going to do whatever they can to find them you know."

"Yeah," Julia whispered miserably, wanting to point out that might take too long. But before she could speak she heard the sound of sobbing that was not herself; since she'd stopped; and she turned over to see it was Eliza. "Lizzy," she said, sitting up and hugging her sister around their grandfather.

"Mommy left now too," the toddler replied as Julia grabbed a tissue from her nightstand and was dabbing her cheeks. "But she comes back home with Daddy."

"They have to find her first," Julia told her seriously, knowing that was a question. "But they're gonna try their best, you know Brad and Uncle Ryan and _Tio_ Javi will do that."

"Yeah," Eliza said, unknowingly echoing her sister. She leaned against their grandfather and murmured, "I wanna help."

"Me too," Julia whispered as she wrapped her arms around Jim.

"So do I," Alexis said, coming into the doorway then.

"Oh 'lexis, I wish…" Julia said, remembering that she would be worried about their father as well. When she had come to the bed and was sitting with her she wrapped her arms around her tightly whispering, "They're together right? Mommy and Daddy?"

Looking at Jim, Alexis spoke after he nodded slightly saying, "They are. And you know the police are doing what they can to find them, since they are their friends too."

"I'm just glad they're together," Julia said under her breath as she nodded to her sister's words.

* * *

Beckett's eyes fluttered open and the sight of the white ceiling above nearly blinded her as her as it was brightly lit. But she blinked a few times and managed to get used to it before she heard a groan to her left. It was then she realized she was on a mattress but directly on the ground and she turned her head before comprehending she had the strength to push herself onto her elbows. And in doing that she saw that the groan was her husband, leaning his head back against the wall he'd been slumped against. "Rick!" she said, climbing off of the mattress as he looked at her with wide eyes and scrambled to stand as well.

The two met in the middle of the room and Castle held his wife to him tightly saying, "God Kate, I thought… wait, you're here with me," before he pulled back to look at her.

"I was taken," Beckett said, looking around the room after they had quickly kissed. "We got a lead that the van that the kidnappers had taken you in was at a house and I was led down to the basement by an FBI agent."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, he was in our house, with the agents that were in the kitchen putting the trace on our phones," Beckett replied. "You think I'd just walk down into a basement without thinking of my safety?" she asked as she stepped away from him and walked over to where the windows were.

"No, I just… I'm realizing the girls are… someone's there right?" Castle asked.

"Your mom, Alexis, my dad and Lanie," Beckett replied, tapping on what was covering the windows. She grimaced slightly as she heard the ringing of steel and muttered, "Of course." She then went over to the door, which was steel as well, and said, "Have you-"

"I was conscious only once," Castle told her. "And yeah, did the same thing you just did plus I had the time to knock on the walls to find a weak spot but, no luck."

"Yeah, I had a feeling," Beckett replied before she turned back to him. "The boys are here as well."

"Oh, nice of them to come," Castle said with a nod, wondering why she was so visibly hesitating. "What?" he asked as she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"The FBI came in to help with the hostage situation," Beckett told him.

"That would stand to reason," Castle commented, starting to become a little confused.

"And they assigned another agent to help with finding you," Beckett replied.

"Who… no," Castle said in sudden realization. When she nodded he said, "Well… Brad is a good counter to his stuffiness, so I'm sure they'll find us if we can't get out of here on our own."

"And how exactly do you propose doing that?" Beckett asked as he let her go.

"See those windows up there?" Castle asked, pointing upwards.

Beckett nodded, having seen the regular windows at the top of the ones covered with metal. "You want me to take off my boots?" she asked.

"That would help though I'm pretty sure; judging by the sound of the ocean outside; we're on the second floor," Castle said. "So how we'd get down… I don't know."

"First let's see if we can find out where we are," Beckett told him, sitting on the mattress and unzipping her boots before she followed her husband over to the windows. She went up on his back and once he'd stood was relieved to see that she could look through the top windows.

"Anything?" Castle asked, relieved himself but because he wasn't having a problem holding her up though very quickly he had to add to what he'd said. "Hopefully there's a sign right in front of this place."

"I'll hurry," Beckett said. "There's a sign… something about dunes… Ashmore Dunes," she said, seeing that sign laying in the middle of a path before the sand of a beach began. She let her husband put her down and told him, "It was like a visitor's sign, but really deteriorated."

"I've never heard of it," Castle told her, shaking his head. "Though Ashmore does sound familiar…"

"Have you seen any of your kidnappers?" Beckett asked then as she glanced around the room then to make sure there wasn't anything they could use to get down from the window.

"I checked, nothing but the mattress, not enough to break our fall," Castle told her as he could guess what she was trying to do. "And no I haven't had any contact with them besides at the school and then they were masked. Did you help with the hostage situation?" he suddenly asked.

"Of course," Beckett said, sitting back down on the mattress and putting on her boots. When she had finished she stayed sitting down saying, "They were devastated."

"The girls?" Castle asked. When she nodded he sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her saying, "You said that they knew the car I was taken in."

"I think it was the same one I was transported in from the house to here," Beckett replied. "But even if they did take me in it, they might have-"

"Discarded it," she and Castle said at the same time.

"Yeah, but… if they can trail the van to wherever they stopped to get rid of it," Castle began though he didn't finish it.

Beckett knew what he wasn't going to say; that likely they had transferred her to another car on the way to wherever they were then. "They took my cell phone," she told him, knowing what he was going to or would ask.

"Yeah, I figured they'd take everything off you," Castle replied. "Anything that would help us that is." He rubbed her back when they were both silent then and he turned his head towards her to press his lips to her temple. "I love you," he whispered against her hair.

Leaning against him Beckett murmured, "We'll get out of this, we've gotten through worse."

"I know but-" Castle started to say, having had the fear that he had been left in the house by his captors while he'd been searching the room for a way out. But his wife had kissed him and he groaned slightly as he responded, feeling her anxiety in the way her lips took his. He returned the kiss as keenly as he could before they parted to breathe, pressing his forehead to hers. "Should we try again?" he asked then.

In response, Beckett nodded her head once and she followed him to the wall that had been to their backs where they started to tap, him up high as far as he could reach to about his waist while she took everything from there down. She paused at a hollow space and looked at her husband.

"We're not in a corner room," Castle said as they then turned to gaze at the spot together. "But the walls are thick; I haven't been able to hear anything since I woke up."

"That's the problem," Beckett replied with a frown. "But if it got us to the next room…"

"Should we repeat that kicking we did before?" Castle asked. But even as he was speaking, his wife was getting down on the floor and angling her foot up she began to try and drive the heel of her boot into the wall. He knelt quickly behind her and had to comment, "Almost like we're in Lamaze class again."

"Almost, if I wasn't trying to break us out of here," Beckett commented absently. Right then, her heel made a good sized dent and she nearly started to speed up when her husband told her to stop.

"You're going to break your heel and you've only got two of those," Castle replied, touching her leg to make sure she didn't try to start up again. "And it's probably going to take you a while to make a big enough hole for me to take over. But maybe…" he started to say as he looked at what she'd managed to start.

Beckett moved to let him sit where she'd been, watching him kicking at the wall before she pressed her hands to his back; able to tell that he was going to get tired fast doing that.

"Did this just turn into _Junior_?" Castle joked.

"Stop talking and keep kicking," Beckett told him. She watched the dent with him and when she saw that he wasn't really doing much damage she told him to stop. "Let me start again," she said before they switched. She found herself kicking harder as at the same time her mind went back to their daughters. When Castle hurriedly told her to stop a few minutes later, she found her leg was throbbing from the repeated motion it had been making and she leaned back against him for a moment. "I think now-" she started to say.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Castle asked.

Beckett opened her mouth, about to tell him that he was imagining things after listening, but then the sound became a little clearer though it was heavily muffled. She stood up with him as they were footprints; numerous ones; and looked around for a weapon though she'd already looked before.

After there were a few clicks, the door swung open and three men stepped inside, their faces covered with masks and holding guns. They stared at the couple; who had braced themselves with the wall behind them; before they stepped aside to let another man inside.

"Detective Moor, Detective Green, so nice to see you again," Scott Dunn said as he took in the shocked expressions on Castle and Beckett's faces.

"You… you're… you're supposed to be in a mental institution" Beckett was able to say first when she had gotten over her surprise.

"If they don't know who you are when they transfer you…" Dunn replied, shrugging his shoulders before he tossed an FBI jacket on the floor. "You were surprisingly easy to lure Georgiana; I should have known you loved Paul more than just a passing relationship."

"It's-" Beckett started to say before her husband grabbed her hand.

"What do you want with us?" Castle asked then.

"Well, you know you two are very good at what you do," Dunn said, pacing back and forth. "But I think there needs to be a final act, things don't end so happily."

"You can't kill us," Beckett said angrily; ignoring the rough laughter from the men behind Dunn at that. "The FBI is-"

"The FBI never noticed that I was there, so what do you think they'll do?" Dunn asked. He stopped and then walked up to Beckett, nearly touching noses with her, before he told her, "But maybe I've changed my mind."

"Changed your mind how?" Castle asked, pulling Beckett away from him and blocking her slightly from the serial killer.

"The ending would be much better with a twist," Dunn replied. "And since I have it now, I would advise you two to say goodbye." He turned away from them and he was about to go out the door when Beckett called out to him.

"Do you know Palmer?" she said.

Looking at his wife, Castle wasn't sure why he hadn't thought about that before; guessing it might have been because he'd been so focused on them getting out of there; but as she reminded him of their case he realized that they were looking at the master. He glanced to Dunn quickly, wanting to hear how he would respond to that since he was turning around to face them.

"So you figured that out," Dunn said, smirking slightly. "I wondered why it was taking you so long. But changing my name went better than I expected." He then walked around the two, not surprised when Castle was quick to block Beckett from him and he said, "Maybe another twist is in order."

Castle could see the way the man's gaze on his wife changed, and he quickly said, "No, one twist is enough," as he knew the man was thinking of his 'book' he was likely writing about that case. "If you put in too many-" he started to say.

"Really? A detective telling me how to work a plot?" Dunn asked incredulously. "So since you two are together for now, you might want to consider saying goodbye."

"Goodbye? Wait, why…" Castle started to say before Dunn began to leave.

"Sir," one of the men said. "Mind if-"

"That would be fine but leave her for me," Dunn said with a nod. "You two keep watch," he said to the other two men.

Feeling the blood draining from her face, Beckett didn't stop Castle as he pushed her back towards the wall as the tallest of the three started to walk towards them. She was a little surprised when instead of going with her, her husband waited for the man to reach him before kicking him in the groin. She ran up as the two other men were running to join their colleague and managed to strike the man on the right of his head with her arm and knock him down before she was being grabbed and almost thrown down to the ground.

Castle was able to block the first attempt to punch his face but because there were two men coming after him the other managed to strike him before he could stop it. He saw Beckett next to him, lunging at the man who'd hit him. He saw the other attacker starting to lunge for him but he kicked his chest. He thought he'd been able to quell the man but felt himself being grabbed from behind and the man he'd kicked was punching him.

"Guys," a voice called from the doorway as Beckett was pushed against the nearest wall. "He's asking for you, we might have someone coming around."

The two men who were holding onto Castle and Beckett threw them to the ground before leaving and the man in the doorway set a plastic bucket on the floor with a clunk. He slammed the door shut and locked it behind him, leaving the two inside the room to get up and try to recover.

"Really shouldn't have done that," Castle groaned as he pushed himself up.

"I know, but… there was a chance," Beckett said.

"Yeah, I saw, you could have gotten the police and everyone here to find me," Castle said as he looked at his wife's face closely to make sure that she was alright.

"No, for us both," Beckett replied as she knelt next to him and reached out to touch his cheek. "But with that guy coming in that cut us off."

"Uh, not sure- ouch," Castle hissed as she touched his lower lip which had begun to split towards the corner of it from one of the punches he'd received; not sure which one it had been though. "If there's a chance you can escape," he told her seriously then. "You need to take it love. As long as you know where this place is, that's enough for you to get back and get me out."

"The same for you," Beckett said reaching for his coat pocket which he was still wearing. When he started to speak she cut him off quickly telling him, "You have to, if it gets us out of here."

"And risk you getting… assaulted," Castle said as he watched her walk over to the bucket to dip the handkerchief she'd gotten from his coat in the water that was inside. "Or worse than that; I can't-"

"You can and you will," Beckett told him firmly with a frown as she went back to him. She started with his lip, stroking the rest of it that she was administering to before saying, "I can't stop thinking about them."

"Yeah, but… we need to stop," Castle said. "It won't help us."

"No," Beckett said as she then started to clean the scrape he'd received on his chin when he'd hit the floor at one point. "Sorry," she told him quickly as he hissed a little when she first touched the wound. "But now we know who the master is."

"Oh, now you call him the master; took you long enough," Castle replied. "So I thought he was at a place outside of the city."

"He was, the last time I'd checked on him," Beckett replied, tossing the handkerchief aside as she had finished. She sat next to him and leaned close before saying, "But what I'm unsure of is how the hell he could have changed his name."

"We're not going to be able to figure that out here," Castle said. "So let's set that aside for now, wait to tell Brad about that. Was he helping too?"

"Yeah, he seems to despise Sorenson," Beckett replied.

"You know the experience he's had with FBI agents," Castle pointed out to her.

"I do but it was starting to get annoying, I thought it was going to keep us from finding you," Beckett said.

"Okay, then back to Dunn, he was one of the patients that escaped obviously," Castle said. "And he managed to convince the other three to follow him."

"The surprise is Palmer," Beckett said. "Since they kept them separate."

"Are we so sure of that? Though I bet you that he was able to circumvent that… probably staked out the hospital as soon as he got there," Castle asked. "Well, even if someone confirmed it you have to remember that they were all highly suggestive with their medication."

"I remember that in their files," Beckett said with a nod. "But Palmer-"

"Wasn't on medication," Castle interrupted to say. "But you heard her, she wanted to go back to the hospital and he offered that to her." He looked over at the door and said, "I don't think I'd want to read that book."

"Neither would I," Beckett said. "Should we go back to it?"

"Right behind you," Castle said as they hurried back to their hole in the wall and he held her up as he knelt behind her.

Trying her best to slam her heel on the edge of the hole she'd managed to start, Beckett got a bit further in before she gave a last desperate kick. Her leg almost throbbing, she managed to sink her foot into the wall and breathed out in relief as Castle helped her get it back out and she got on her knees with him before they pulled at the dry wall.

"It's… damn it," Castle swore heavily.

"What?" Beckett asked since he was looking through the space between the walls. She ducked her head and saw that though the wall had sounded hollow, there was a beam at an angle that was going to prevent them from passing through to the next room. Leaning over as she put her hands on the floor she said, "There has to be something else… unless we tear down the wall entirely."

"Yeah, that was the only point and we got this," Castle said, trying the wood in the beam to see if maybe it was decaying and soft enough for them to get out of the way. But it was solid and he said through gritted teeth, "This house isn't that old."

"I don't think so," Beckett agreed. "We can try and find another spot," she suggested, but without much urgency.

"I'm thinking the same," Castle told her. "Even if we did manage to get out, we wouldn't really be able to leave this place unarmed."

"Yeah," Beckett said simply, standing and going to the bucket.

"You okay?" Castle asked in concern as he followed her when he saw her limping slightly.

"I was desperate in that last kick," Beckett replied. "Plus the fight didn't help," she told him, dipping her hands into the water to clean them off. She looked on as her husband did the same before she said, "Think we could do something with this?"

"When they come back in… the bucket could be a weapon," Castle said, seeing her nod. He dried his hands on his coat and hurried to dump the water remaining in the space between the walls as it was the best place to hide it. He then said, "Now, do we lure them or wait?"

"Wait, I bet you anything that Dunn's expecting us to do something like that," Beckett replied. "But if he thinks we're just sitting here waiting for him…"

"I agree but I'm not betting," Castle told her with a nod. He handed her the handle of the bucket and they sat together on the mattress again. "So how do you want to play this?" he asked as they kept their eyes on the door.

Beckett would have smiled at how serious her husband was being but since she was feeling the same she merely opened her mouth to speak and they began to plan their strategy to attempt to escape their captivity.

* * *

"Here," Lanie said to Alexis as she was handing her a mug of tea. "How are they?"

"Okay, they're just looking out at the water," the young woman replied. She sighed and said, "I almost thought at first they were waiting for Dad and Kate to come back but I think they feel better being in there."

At the window, Julia murmured, "Are you okay?"

"No, I am scared," Eliza said with a slight sniff as her big sister had taken her into the room when she'd begun to cry silently while they'd been coloring. She felt a little better but was afraid to go into that night without their parents home still. "Are you?"

"Yeah, little bit," Julia sighed. She hugged her sister as tightly as she could then before saying, "But don't worry, we're okay," she said as she felt their parents would have wanted her to do that. "We have 'lexis, Gram and Grandpapa here. And our uncles and aunt too; lots of people here to watch us."

"Mommy and Daddy want us safe," Eliza stated. When her sister nodded at that she smiled tearfully and then said, "I want them to watch us."

Looking at the girls who were standing at the windows in Castle and Beckett's room at that, Lanie stepped inside and in response to what the toddler had said told them, "Girls, do you want to eat something? It's almost dinner."

"No!" Eliza said, turning and looking a little mad.

"You need to," Julia said to her sister, hugging her tightly once more in response to her tone of voice.

"And you too Jules," Alexis said, going over and picking Eliza up. "We all need to eat since it won't help Dad or your mom if we're fainting."

"What about the police?" Julia asked as she took Lanie's hand once she had reached her. "Are they doing anything?"

Since they were going down the stairs as Julia had been speaking, Lanie and Alexis looked to the kitchen, seeing that the men and women working on the case were all gathered at the island and talking.

"They are," Alexis assured her sisters before she led the way down the hall away from the activity there.

Julia, as they were walking, glanced over to the kitchen herself and saw that some of them were on laptops and phones. She guessed that they were working but had to wonder if it wasn't better to just go out and search everywhere possible to find her parents. But even as she thought that she could almost hear her mother in her mind saying that would take too many people and sighed before she turned her attention ahead of her as they stepped from the hall to the family room.

"Girls, come here," Martha said when she turned and saw her granddaughters. She sat down in an armchair and embraced Eliza and Julia before telling them, "Brad wanted us to tell you that they were able to find a way to see the way your mother went."

"In a car?" Julia asked, glancing at Eliza and seeing that she looked a little confused.

"Yes… Jim, I don't think Eliza should know-" Martha said, hesitating when she glanced at their youngest granddaughter.

"No, I wanna," Eliza insisted before her grandfather could say anything. "I wanna see if Mommy and Daddy come back."

"I think it's alright," Jim said, though he was hesitant as well. "They're starting to track that car and they're positive they'll be able to find her, it might take some time."

"They're not… hurt are they?" Julia asked then, glancing at her sister quickly before back to her grandparents.

"No, we would know if they were hurt," Alexis said firmly. She then said, "I guess we should eat but…"

"I thought we had to?" Julia asked with a frown.

"Yeah, we should, come on," Lanie said, taking the two girls over to the coffee table. The others gathered around it and she served everyone a slice of pizza before they started to eat; or attempted to in Julia and Eliza's cases. She knew she should talk, take their minds off their parents, but she had a hard time until Julia was suddenly speaking.

"Can we go out to the beach after?" the little girl said to her sister.

"We can," Alexis said immediately, thinking going out would be a good distraction for the girls.

"You'll need to bundle them up," Jim pointed out. "Unless you wanted all of us to come too?"

"No, just, just us," Julia replied a little shyly.

"If you both try and eat you can go," Martha said. "We'll get you take some cocoa as well so you won't be cold."

"Is it okay?" Eliza whispered to her sisters.

"I think Mommy and Daddy would want us to do that," Julia said, feeling very sure of herself saying that though she wasn't sure why. When her little sister nodded and went back to her half slice of pizza she ate herself but was thinking about her parents, coming to a realization very quickly. It was hard to eat but finally she finished her second slice, having to force herself to eat the last bite as she thought of that night and how it was going to be very long without their parents with them. She followed Alexis over to the front door to get their coats and outer layers before she went straight to her grandfather so he could help her.

"You're very brave you know," Jim told her as he buttoned her coat for her.

"I am?" Julia whispered.

"You're doing exactly what your mother would do," Jim said with a slight nod. "And she would be proud of you; her and your father."

"Thank you Grandpapa," Julia whispered again, hugging him tightly around the neck. "I'm glad you're here with us."

"Me too," Eliza said, toddling over to them as she was well wrapped up.

"Come here you two," Jim said, seeing his daughter in the two in that moment. He held his left arm out to Eliza and embraced her tight to him before he kissed them both. "I see your gram has your cocoa," he then said, looking up to find Martha with Lanie in the doorway. "Let's get you outside so you can stay out for as long as you can."

"Try and find a shell for me girls," Lanie told the three as they were stepping outside. She smiled as the two looked up at her and Alexis gave her a slight smile back. When Jim had closed the door she said seriously, "What are you two going to do tonight?"

"Stay with them until they fall asleep," Martha replied. "I'll be with Eliza and Jim's going to stay with Julia. I just hope…" she trailed off with a sigh as she knew their granddaughters were more than likely going to be having nightmares about that day. She shook herself as she then turned her attention to the backyard, seeing the three had made it down to the sand by then.

"Luckily it's not too cold," Alexis said, glancing to her right and seeing an agent patrolling there. She looked quickly to her sisters but was a little surprised when neither seemed too inclined to ask why he was there. She set down the blanket she carried and said, "Want to find that shell for Lanie now?"

"Kay," Eliza said as she looked at Julia, seeing she was looking up at the sky. "Jules?" she said, doing her best to tug on her coat sleeve with her mitten covered hand.

"I'll come with you," the little girl said, shaking herself quickly before she walked down to the edge of the sand with Eliza.

Staying behind the two, Alexis glanced back at the house and she thought she could see the lead FBI agents and Brad at the door but couldn't make them out as she heard her little sister calling her name. "You found one?" she asked, going over to them.

"Yeah, is it pretty?" Eliza asked, holding up the white shell.

"It is," Alexis said, leaning down and kissing her forehead. When the toddler held onto her tightly she smiled briefly and then said, "Why don't we have the hot chocolate now before it gets too cold?"

Sitting down with her, Julia looked at the lapping waves before she suddenly said, "They're gonna try to come back."

"Of course," Alexis replied, pouring the cocoa into the three mugs and making sure the cover on Eliza's was secure.

"No, they're gonna fight and do what they can to come back," Julia said firmly. "They did that before and they get a little hurt," she said, glancing at their little sister at that. "But they come back."

Alexis smiled, trying not to cry at how much the little girl believed that and leaned over, kissing her forehead and Eliza's again before urging them to drink. As she watched Julia's slightly more relaxed stance she hoped her sister was right, unaware of what was happening behind them in the house.

"I hate to tell Alexis," Brad commented to Sorenson and Wainwright.

"She needs to know," the former replied. "But we're not giving up; we know they transported K- Beckett on foot from where the van was left, so they can't have gone far."

"And we have eyewitnesses that saw them running down to the beach," Wainwright replied.

"Where they could have easily gotten a car and taken her all over the island," Brad pointed out. He saw the two men looked a little annoyed at him for that and he shrugged before hearing footsteps behind them. "Anything?" he asked.

"Your CSU found some fingerprints and they did a quick search but there wasn't a match to the six that were found," Esposito answered, since he and Ryan had walked up to them.

"Six? They're professionals," Brad said.

"That would make sense," Wainwright said. "This kind of job had to be done by professionals, hired professionals."

"And that person who hired them has it in for Kate," Brad then said. When the other four men looked at him he said, "Really, you don't think they're after her? She and I talked about it and-"

"Kate knew that and she still went," Sorenson said.

"Again, you know how she is," Ryan pointed out.

"And you know she was going to go get her husband back," Esposito added. "But why do everything they did to get Castle first?"

"Did you look at her cases?" Sorenson asked.

"We did, most of the killers she and Castle caught are in jail or dead," Ryan replied.

"What about those that don't count as most?" Wainwright asked.

"They're unable to be located," Esposito said, handing over a piece of paper.

Looking at the six names there, Sorenson shook his head saying, "We'll take a look at these," before he and his partner went back to the kitchen.

"How're they doing?" Ryan asked as he and Esposito stepped up to the chief to look out at the three girls still sitting on the beach.

"I'm worried the most about Julia, I know how close she is to Kate," Brad said. He glanced at the two men when they turned to him and said, "I know about her story."

"They told you?" Esposito asked in surprise, unable to help feeling a sense of jealousy creeping up on him.

"Me and my wife, you know she's a friend of Kate's," Brad said before he sighed. "I have a daughter myself; I worry about something happening to me and what she might go through with that so what they're going through now…" He then said, "What about Tyson?"

"That you know about too," Esposito stated.

"They apprised me only a few months ago," Brad said with a slight nod, able to easily pick up on the jealousy in the detective's voice. "They felt I should know, just in case. But this isn't him?"

"It's not, when we heard that the assailants were going to Eliza's classroom, the day that Castle was scheduled to read, we looked into it," Ryan answered. "And we're not seeing him, we had a call just before we came over here; he's suspected of a murder in Rhode Island."

"He pops up around the eastern seaboard," Esposito added. "And he's quick, one murder here, one there, so we can't call him 3XK anymore."

"The Fox has come up," Ryan replied. "But he's kept his word, he's never come near Long Island and Castle and Beckett haven't gone back to the city to investigate. So there's a balance… if you want to call it that."

"And he would have gone after the girls," Brad stated instead of asked. The two men nodded to that and he looked back out saying, "Then is there anyone you can think of who's going to want to get to Kate?"

"Those names on the list," Ryan said simply. "What about your sketch?"

Grabbing his phone, Brad opened his picture of the sketch and said, "The agents took it and they're going to distribute it, it'll be on the news soon. Do you two recognize him at all?"

Studying the picture with his partner, Esposito shook his head and then said, "I'm wondering, how many abandoned houses are there out here?"

Brad looked at him for a moment and then said, "That's a difficult question, there are a number of them and you need to recall the Hamptons is large. So is the rest of the eastern end of the island. I was thinking along the same lines as you before."

"Has anyone called about people occupying an abandoned house?" Ryan then asked.

"Not that I know of… but I can give a call to an officer to look into that," Brad replied as he dialed the number of Officer Enos.

Listening to the chief giving instructions to the man on the other end, Esposito looked out at the beach to see the two younger girls were hugging Alexis. He frowned and then turned back to Brad as he got off the phone. "You ever thought about patrolling?" he asked the man in slight irritation.

"I have two officers looking around," Brad replied. At the detective's surprised expression he said firmly, "I'm not without experience Detective and they're my friends too so I want to get them back."

Esposito nodded before they all looked at the girls that time before he then said, "Are two enough?"

"For this area," Brad replied. "I gave some other stations in the area a call and they're doing the same."

"Alright, we should check on Sorenson and his partner," Ryan said. "See how they're doing with that list."

"You think this guy might be in disguise?" Brad asked them then. "Someone from your list?"

Ryan and Esposito turned from starting to walk away and glanced at one another before the former opened his mouth to speak.

But before Ryan could, Brad's radio on his belt suddenly crackled to life and he took it saying, "Come in Bernier, you broke up." He listened to his officer relaying the message again and he looked at Sorenson and Wainwright who were joining them then before saying, "You found… got it, we're on our way."

With that, the five men took off at a run, not stopping as they left the house for their cars leaving the occupants to wonder what had happened as they heard tires squealing once they all reached the street.

* * *

Looking up at what she could see of the sky through the window, Beckett felt Castle's hand on her back and she murmured, "I wonder if I knew what was going to happen."

"You were just saying we loved them," he assured her, holding her against him then. "And it had to be done. They know we're going to come back to them." He made her turn to him then and said, "Kate, if-"

"Don't," Beckett cut him off quickly, shaking her head. "I'm not going to even entertain any possibility other than us going home."

Castle studied her closely and seeing that she was serious he leaned down and took her lips in a very careful kiss before pulling away so he could judge her reaction.

" _I love you_ Rick," Beckett whispered, hearing something very faint and muffled coming up from the second floor.

" _I adore you_ Kate _, and I love you_ too," Castle responded, having heard the same. He kissed her again, that time making it a lot more passionate and feeling a thrill as she responded. He ignored the hesitancy of that thrill as he couldn't forget their situation, gently slipping his tongue through her lips as she parted them. They rolled around one another for a moment, before they had to part to breathe. He pressed his forehead against hers, before they heard the muffled noise coming from much closer, and they parted.

Brushing her lips against her husband's, Beckett went to the bucket and picked it up before she stood to the right of the door, waiting for the footsteps to come nearer as she looked over at Castle. She nodded to him when she saw he was sitting on the mattress and she waited, knowing she was only going to have one chance to strike out at their captors and Dunn and she was going to need to make it count.

The footsteps came closer until there were a few metallic sounds of keys opening locks before the door swung open. As soon as the first man stepped inside, he was struck with the bucket and he staggered back, giving his fellow attackers the chance to pull guns from their hips and point them at Beckett.

"Nice, very nicely done Georgiana," Dunn said as he came inside last, a gun in his hand as well. "I thought you might try something when we got back to you." He was smiling and said, "That will be a great addition to the book of course."

Stepping back to stand with her husband, Beckett watched the killer glance back at the man she'd hit. She grabbed Castle's sleeve to hold him back as she could tell from the tenseness of his body that he was more than ready to lunge at Dunn. But she knew if he tried he'd easily be killed so she gently squeezed his arm before the man turned back to them.

"I might make his injuries in the book far worse than what you gave him," Dunn told her. "It'll make this scene much sweeter. And speaking of that, say goodbye."

"Excuse me?" Castle asked, not needing to know the answer to that, just trying to buy some more time.

"You heard me," Dunn replied. "Say goodbye, it's almost time for the finale."

Looking at each other, Castle and Beckett didn't move and would have stayed in place if the killer hadn't stepped up to him, jabbing the muzzle of his gun into his chest. Getting an idea from that, Castle leaned over and whispered into his wife's ear, " _Attack them, do whatever you need to so they have a harder time to recover. I'm grabbing his gun_."

Beckett tried to remain impassive at that and she quickly whispered to him, " _If it's too much of a risk then_ -"

" _They're not going to shoot me, he's told them not to because it'll ruin his book_ ," Castle told her seriously. When she pulled back from him he leaned over and brushed his lips to hers, mouthing the words, _I love you_ , before she did the same to him and they turned to Dunn.

"I should have done this a long, long time ago," the man said, smirking at the two. "But there's only so much romance you can write and I don't think I could have watched the two of you alone without wanting to join in myself."

Beckett had to grab her husband's arm again, that time he had lunged at the killer, and she said, "That wouldn't have worked with your story though."

"So you understand now," Dunn replied, looking delighted at that.

Wincing at the look the man was giving her, Castle cleared his throat roughly and said, "So we've said our goodbyes and you have your scene, so we can-"

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out to me," Dunn said. "Are we ready?"

"Yes sir," one of the men said behind him. "Whenever you say."

"Alright, please, begin," Dunn said before he turned and left the room.

Castle and Beckett were just barely able to react when four men rushed at them and she took the lead, swinging the bucket in front of her before they could get too close. She was about to bring it around to smash on the head of the lead attacker but he grabbed her arm in time and tore the bucket from her hand. She kicked at him but ended up using her leg that was still sore from kicking the wall so there wasn't enough strength in it to take him down and she found herself being grabbed by the arms by both men as she was trying to recover.

Trying to keep the men that had come after him at bay, Castle was swinging at them the best he could, though he found it difficult to make any contact before he found himself face down on the floor. He wasn't sure how exactly that had happened and was only aware of when he was picked up; a little too dazed to recover at first. Once he had he was wrenching his arms to try and get them out of his captors' grip, but with little luck.

"Stop," Dunn said. "Hold on," he continued as he came into the room. "Looks like you two added a nice little fight scene. But for now," he started to say before nodded to one of the other two men.

Stepping forward Beckett then pulled her arms toward her as hard as she could and was somehow able to get them free before she ran, heading for the man to Castle's right. She punched him directly in the face before he let go of her husband and he was just about to hit the other man holding him then she was grabbed from behind. "Let go of me!" she yelled, trying to get free for a second time. But when the men grabbed her arms, twisting them back around her she knew she wasn't going to have a chance; though she still kept struggling against them. She heard her husband yelling and she looked up to see that he was in the same position as her.

Castle found himself soon immobile as the two men stepped close together behind him and watched as the man that Dunn had been talking to approached him with a syringe in hand. As soon as he saw it he was jerking back and forth, doing whatever he could to get free though it was having little impact.

With herself in the same predicament, Beckett was breathing heavily from her struggles when her breath stopped in her throat at the sight of the man nearing Castle. She then started to let herself move, thrashing about as much as she could before she felt her hands go free and she ran. Lunging at the captor with the syringe, she knocked him to the ground before someone was pulling at her hair. She was able to get a left roundhouse kick at the man behind her before she ran to the syringe, trying to smash it under her boot before the click of a safety being released made her freeze.

"Pick it up," Dunn said, holding the gun aimed at Castle's head. "Unless you want to continue?" he asked her.

Beckett stepped back, allowing the two men who'd been holding her grab her again. She had to hold herself back from jumping after the attacker she'd knocked down picked up the syringe and then turned to her husband. "Rick-" she said as one of the men holding him tried to force his head down; though not without a struggle.

"It'll be okay Kate," Castle said placatingly, having to hold himself back as well with the gun still pointed at his head; Dunn shifting it down with his movement. He clenched his teeth together tightly as he felt the prick of a needle and he looked at his wife, seeing that she was fighting against her captors as well as one was trying to push down her head to expose her neck. He caught her gaze as she was fighting against the needle being pushed in her neck and her panicked eyes meeting his were the last thing he saw as he succumbed to the drug coursing through him.

Beckett was dropped to the ground unceremoniously by the men holding her and she landed on her hands and knees. She forced herself to push herself up and made her way to her husband's unconcious body, cradling his head in her arms. "Please…" she whispered, starting to feel the pull of the drug at the edge of her consciousness. Her fingers were slightly shaking as she pressed them against his neck. And the last thing she knew was his pulse, still beating underneath her fingertips before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell over on her side still holding on to Castle.


	13. Pain That Often Mingles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Beware of Darkness by George Harrison, from his album All Things Must Pass.

The ground underneath him was hard and gritty and Castle would have thought he'd been tossed onto a beach if he hadn't opened his eyes before he could think that. When he saw the black substance underneath he blinked and it focused to become a road. Everything suddenly came back to him and he sat up, seeing if he'd collapse as soon as he did so. When he managed to stay upright he stood and looked around him calling, "Kate? Kate!"

As he was about to step down into the trees surrounding the road, Castle turned at the sound of a car nearing him. He was almost going to take off running to hide when he paused as he could soon tell it was a police cruiser. He glanced back at the trees before he started to run towards the car, waving his arms back and forth until they had reached him.

"Castle!" the officer said. "I thought it was you."

"Bernier, call Brad and tell him it's Scott Dunn, he took Kate and I," Castle told the officer before he turned to the side of the road and went down the slight incline before he started to look for his wife.

"Yeah, he says it's Scott Dunn," Bernier was saying to his superior after initially telling him that he'd found the writer and was following him down to the trees. "He seems alright but I'll take him to the hospital-"

"No, I don't need to go, I just need to find Kate," Castle said angrily. "She might be on the other side… Kate!" He ran across the road, not bothering to look for cars as he knew already that there was no possible way Dunn would have dumped him on a busy street. He had some hope of finding his wife there but when all he saw was the remnants of snow and some leaves here and there he came to an abrupt stop and knew his worst fear had been confirmed. "He still has her," he told the officer.

"Come on Castle, I can take you to the hospital to get checked out," Bernier told him, taking him by the arm and leading him back up to the road. "Brad suggested you go, since you're okay you should be able to go home soon," he told the man as he opened the passenger door of the cruiser.

Looking around them then, Castle hesitated and then said, "Will you send someone to search, there's still a chance she could be out here."

"They're going to right now," Bernier assured him. "Brad is on the way with the two FBI agents and the detectives from they city. They'll start searching."

"Then let's wait until they get here," Castle nearly begged. He wasn't surprised when Bernier hesitated before contacting the chief on his walkie talkie and he sat in the passenger seat, looking at the side of the road as he listened to half of the conversation between the officer and Brad.

"They're almost here but as soon as they get to us, the chief is taking you to the hospital himself," Bernier said, looking at Castle. "Hopefully you'll go with him."

Nodding once in thanks, Castle got up and waited for the sound of a car before he saw three of them nearing them from the way Bernier had come. He watched as two of them parked behind Bernier's cruiser, seeing his wife's ex-boyfriend stepping out of the lead vehicle. "Do you need my statement?" he called to the agent.

"Chief Davis will take it for us," Sorenson said as he approached. He had thought he was going to have some kind of negative reaction seeing the man again but he felt nothing but pity for the writer as he could see the anguish in the man's eyes. "Call me once he finishes telling you," he told Brad.

"Of course," the chief said before he led Castle to his car. Once they were turned around and on their way back to the hospital he asked, "Okay?"

"No, she's either out there in the woods or still with Dunn," Castle replied. He then opened his mouth to speak and hesitated a little before saying, "Did Sorenson hear that?"

"He did, said he contacted his people back at your house to get them started on looking into what they could about him," Brad assured him.

"How are they?" Castle asked, knowing his friend would be aware of who he was talking about.

"Not good but they're trying to keep going," Brad said honestly. He glanced at his friend, not surprised when he saw that he was rubbing his face, and he then said, "We'll find her Rick."

"Let me tell you what happened now so we can make that happen a lot sooner," Castle replied. And with that he launched into his story of what had happened to him after Eliza and her fellow classmates had left the room finishing with him waking up on the road.

"None of them called each other by name?" Brad asked.

"Not even fake names," Castle replied in a hurry as he saw they were approaching the hospital. "But if we were only on the first floor…" he started to say.

"What?" Brad asked as he stopped against the curb.

"No, there was something, I can't remember what though," Castle said before groaning. "I must have hit my head on the floor during the last fight we had with those guys, I can't remember what happened that we looked out that tall window. I know she had to have stood on my shoulders but…"

"You'll remember, let's just get you cleaned up and home," Brad told him, clapping his hand on his shoulder.

While the chief was getting out, Castle shook his head muttering, "Not home, not yet," before he got out himself.

* * *

"Gram?" Alexis said as she watched Martha pacing back and forth. "He'll get here soon."

"Did Brad find something?" Julia asked, coming into the entry with her little sister.

"We-" Martha started to say, as they hadn't been sure what the chief had learned that had made him and the others run out of the house. She cut herself off when she heard a car pulling up to the porch before she opened the front door.

"Mother," Castle said as he saw her stepping out onto the porch. He hugged her tightly once he'd reached her and kissing her cheek said, "I'm fine, just some scrapes and bruises." He let her go then, and looked at his daughters, a little startled when all three of them cried out, "Daddy!" and ran to him. He knelt, though his knee wasn't happy about that and picked up Eliza and Julia before taking Alexis in his embrace too. He wasn't surprised when they were all trying to kiss him and he kissed them back before he said in response to what they were saying, "I love you guys too. We should go inside now."

"Daddy… where's… where's Mommy?" Julia said, looking past him to see just Brad following them inside.

"Girls," Castle said as he set Julia down in the entry and the chief closed the door behind them. "Whoever it was that took me and your mom let me go."

"But not Mommy," Julia said quickly, a little angrily.

"We both tried to get out," Castle said. "But we couldn't get away from where they were keeping us. I promise though, I'm not going to stop trying to find your mom."

"Were you able to see where you two were kept?" Martha asked as Eliza and then Julia pressed against their father.

"I…" Castle started to say before he shook his head, hoping they'd understand that he would tell them later.

"Why don't we go and sit," Martha said. "And I'll get you something to drink and eat too, I'm sure you could use some sustenance."

"We ate Daddy, you do too," Eliza said quickly when her father started to open his mouth to protest.

"I will," Castle replied before he turned to Brad. "What're you going to do now?"

"The search has expanded to homes, though…" the chief began to say.

"You don't think Mommy would be that close to Daddy," Julia said. She felt her cheeks heat up as the men looked at her and told them quickly, "They don't want us to find her, so they wouldn't put her closer it's too easy."

"She's becoming her mother more and more," Brad said.

Castle gave him a weak smile in reply to that and then said, "I'm going to stay with them but the second you get anything-"

"I'll call," Brad said as Castle's phone had been returned to him at the hospital. "I'll be joining the others, so I'll be back."

Watching the man go, Castle turned to his youngest daughters who were still with him and said, "Come on, you two can have something to drink with me while I eat."

"I'm not thirsty," Julia said, grabbing his hand tightly as they walked over to the family room since there were still FBI agents in the kitchen.

"I'm not," Eliza echoed, pressing her cheek to her father's.

"Daddy, can I ask something?" Julia said a little anxiously as she sat on the couch next to him and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

"Go ahead," Castle said, knowing already what the subject of her inquiry was going to be.

"Mommy was okay when you went… asleep right?" Julia asked, not wanting to say asleep but not sure what other word she could choose.

"She was fine, worried about you two, and believe me she's going to try and get back to us until we find her," Castle said, assuring himself at the same time as he was doing that for his daughters. He looked up as Alexis came in with some water and slices of pizza and he said, "Thanks, sit with us?"

"I was planning to," Alexis replied. "So you're fine," she said once she was on the other side of her father.

"Yeah, they didn't want to hurt me," Castle said musingly as he chewed. He then said, "How're you doing?"

"I feel better seeing you're okay but I'm worried about Kate," Alexis said. "Though I know she'll be able to take care of herself."

"That's the thing you can count on when you're talking about her," Castle said, though he couldn't forget the fact that one of the attackers seemed to want to assault her. He shook that away and then said to the girls, "You two did eat?"

"Yeah, do we have to go to school tomorrow?" Julia asked.

"You don't," Alexis said before Castle could answer that. "They called and they cancelled for the rest of the week."

"I would have kept you two home anyways," Castle said with a nod as Eliza and Julia looked relieved. "But when school starts up again after Spring Break-" he started to say then.

"I forgot that was coming," Julia interrupted him. "Oh Daddy, will-"

"She will and we're still heading into the city," Castle said before she could finish that. "We'll celebrate our birthday and I'll have to tease your mom about being all alone in November for her birthday." He wasn't surprised when the two didn't really react to his little joke and he cuddled Eliza close before saying, "She'll be here."

Alexis put her hand on her father's shoulder, able to hear the pain tingeing his voice at that and she had to wonder how she could have forgotten what he was going through with his wife missing. She was about to ask him when Jim and Martha entered and got their attention.

"Jim, I-" Castle said, feeling a horrible weight of guilt settling in his stomach at the sight of his father in law.

"No, it was explained to me what happened, I don't blame you," Jim said hurriedly as he reached over and squeezed his shoulder before sitting in an armchair.

"Daddy said Mommy was fine," Julia said quickly. "And he was trying to get them out of there."

Looking at the little girl and wondering how she could know; though he knew she had likely guessed; Castle nodded and said, "We were both trying to get out of there but yeah, I did what I could. And we both did everything we could."

"They're still searching but they found some tire prints in the snow near you," Jim replied. "I was being told just now in the kitchen. They got a mold and are hopeful to get a model of the car it was on, as well as an eyewitness in that area."

"Someone had to have seen something," Martha commented. "Even with it being deserted we're not the middle of nowhere here on the eastern end of the island."

Castle nodded at his mother's determined tone of voice and said, "You're right but we have to see," as he checked his watch. "Hopefully someone who saw will be watching the news." They all fell silent and he was about to say something else a while later when Alexis took his empty plate and he took a sip of water before sitting back against the couch with a sigh, holding his youngest daughters tightly to him as they pressed closer against him.

"Are you tired Daddy?" Julia asked, looking up at him as she pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Slightly but I'm not going to bed yet," Castle replied, checking his watch again. He then looked at Eliza as the events of earlier that day; a lifetime ago it felt like; came back to him and he looked at his mother and Jim and said, "Has she been alright?"

"I am Daddy," Eliza said then, looking confused.

"Sure?" Castle asked before he pressed a kiss to her temple. Though she nodded in response to him he studied her closely and when she stared back at him he sighed and said, "Okay but sweetheart if you're scared after what happened, tell me okay?"

Eliza said softly, "I will," before she hugged him.

Alexis was walking back to the room when she heard the doorbell being rung and she went to the doorway asking her dad, "Should I get that?"

"It's probably Sorenson and his partner, but check," Castle told her, sitting up then and helping Eliza sit next to him. He heard his daughter talking to someone after another FBI agent had followed her to the entry and he looked up as she came to the doorway. "Who was…" he began before trailing off. "Agent Shaw," he commented as he stood up after making sure Eliza was okay where she was. She grabbed onto his arm and he had to quickly pick her up before he went over to the agent.

"Mr. Castle, under other circumstances I would say I find it interesting to see you again," Shaw said as she looked at Eliza and then Julia who had followed her father and was holding his hand. "I'm wondering if we might speak with Agent Sorenson in private?"

"Of course," Castle replied. He turned to Jim who had come up to him at that and he was about to hand Eliza over to him when the toddler held onto him tightly, starting to whimper. "Sweetheart, please, she's going to help and I need to talk to her," he told her soothingly. He was relieved when she let him go and once Eliza was in Jim's arms he walked with Shaw and Sorenson to his and Beckett's office. "Do you have anything at all?" he asked them as soon as he closed the door behind them.

Shaw was about to answer that when there was a knock on the door and when Castle had let in Brad she said, "He'll be able to explain."

"Esposito and Ryan let me know about the case you investigated concerning Dunn," the chief began after taking off his hat.

"Where are they?" Castle asked.

"Still searching, though," Brad started to say before hesitating a little. He finally went ahead and told him, "That search is going to be called off in about an hour."

"I expected it," Castle said though he grit his teeth together for a moment. "But anything from your search?"

"Not really, they're working on identifying the tire tracks that they made a mold of," Brad replied as Sorenson was looking at him. "But they look to be from a van."

"You think it's the same one that took us both?" Castle asked in slight surprise.

"It might be, we'll need to check on that of course," Brad replied. "And the area is largely deserted, though the few abandoned homes there are we searched."

"Let me guess, they were abandoned," Castle replied. At the chief's nod he sighed and then said, "So for now we have to focus on Dunn himself."

"That's why I was called in," Shaw said then, getting the attention of the two men. When they turned to her she said, "Agent Sorenson explained to me what you said Dunn told you. He's writing a book about this, not really a surprise. But there had to be something that pushed him to start putting all of this into motion." She paused and said, "How widely spread was the news that he and Beckett were working with you on a more regular basis?" to the chief.

"I know it was mentioned in the _Ledger_ in the city," Castle answered for him. "But could it have been as far up as Buffalo?"

"There's one way to find out," Sorenson said, leaving them.

"You're a profiler, does it seem like he wants to kill her again," Castle said as the door closed after the other agent.

Shaw felt a sense of pity for him, as she was aware that he knew the answer already, and she was about to tell him that when he spoke before she could.

"Look I know he wants to control her but he called us Moor and Green; our characters now that we write," Castle said in a rush. "But wouldn't he want to get rid of me as well?"

"It would seem that he's still focused on your wife," Shaw said slowly. She thought for a moment and said, "Your killer in your case you just investigated was a woman?"

"And all the victims were as well," Castle said. "You don't think that he had all that going on because he wanted to tell Beckett in some bizarre way that he was doing it for her do you?"

"Not really," Shaw replied. "I see it as therapeutic, after the fact that she managed to bring him down." She saw that Castle was about to speak and she quickly said before he could, "I'm aware that you were the one that stopped him from shooting her but since all his focus went to her-"

"And because he was about to kill her, he wants to finish it," Castle replied. "And I would guess that because I stopped him, he's thinking of torturing me by…"

"That would make sense in his mind," Shaw replied, not surprised he couldn't finish it. When Castle leaned back against the bookcase next to him, she said, "Now that we know it's Dunn we can start tracing him from the hospital to this home where he kept you both. Sorenson informed me that you're experiencing some memory loss of your time there. I spoke with the doctor who treated you and he says that should be temporary."

"Yeah, as soon as I can recall anything I'll let everyone know," Castle said with a nod.

"Good, now I would suggest you let us take care of things," Shaw said. "And spend time with your daughters."

"You went through something like this," Castle stated.

Nodding a little Shaw replied, "My daughter wanted me close after that." She then opened the door and told him, "You've helped us as much as you could; managed to close your case as well; but for now leave things to us."

Though Castle wanted to protest and insist that he could still help he knew that she was right and there was nothing he could do to help the case until he could remember what had slipped his mind. And he knew that his daughters would want him back so he left the room, heading into the family room again as behind him Shaw joined her colleagues and Brad in the kitchen.

Castle was a little surprised to find Jim alone in the room and he walked over to where his father in law was standing at one of the windows, looking out at the ocean. He stood with him, though he couldn't really see much of the waves as by then night had fallen. "She was okay," he said again, hesitantly.

Looking at him, Jim said with a sigh, "I thought, I really thought that consulting with the Hamptons police would be safe. And she loves doing it, since it gives her more time to write and also be with you three. But I never expected this, not from someone who was supposed to be under the tightest security possible."

"No one was," Castle replied simply, nodding his head. He opened his mouth to speak again and then said, "I told her to leave, if she had the chance, and let me stay behind."

"Katie wouldn't have done that," Jim said with a slight smile on his face.

"No, she didn't want to; it was both of us…" Castle started to say before something in his chest clenched painfully. "I shouldn't have-"

"Whatever you were injected with left a pretty visible mark Rick," Jim said, turning to his son in law then as he was a little startled out of his concern for his daughter with the raw pain in his voice. "And you were outnumbered."

"Seven to two," Castle said before he laughed mirthlessly. "And all Kate and I had were a bucket and our hands and legs. But not even that could help us."

"They were armed," Jim stated. At his son in law's nod he said, "Then it would have been suicide to press further than you two did and knowing Katie she would not have taken that chance." At Castle's second nod he patted his shoulder a few times and said, "With you back, you've given us a chance to find her."

"My memory-" Castle started to say.

"It'll come back to you," Jim said, as he'd been apprised of what the doctor who'd checked on Castle had said. "But for now…"

Looking over at the doorway as he could hear footsteps running down the hall, Castle held his arms out to the girls as they ran straight to him and he held them to him as tightly as he could. Deciding he needed to stop turning over the memory loss in his head constantly since it wasn't helping him recall anything, he picked Eliza up and said, "Time for you two to have a bath okay?" He felt that clench in his chest again when neither protested and turning to the others said, "I'll take them," before he left, taking Julia by the hand as they went to the hall, ignoring the investigators in the kitchen as they went over to the stairs.

As they were watching their father fill the tub Eliza spoke up, saying, "I don't wanna."

Smiling for a moment before he turned back to them, Castle took his youngest in his arms and said, "You need to but it'll be a quick bath okay?"

"Are we going to play?" Julia asked as she started to undress while Castle was helping Eliza with her clothes.

"Do you want to?" Castle asked instead of answering. When the little girl shrugged he said, "Then let's get you both cleaned and we'll go." Once they were both inside and he was washing Eliza while Julia took care of herself he asked, "Where's your aunt?"

"She went for something, she didn't say what," Julia answered. "I thought it was for you and Mommy but you came back before her."

Castle had to wonder at that but knew that Brad would have told him if it had come to the point where there was a body. So he shook that fear from his mind and focused on helping the girls finish their bath before he got them out and helped them get ready for bed. When he stepped out into the room he was surprised to see the doctor in the doorway and he quickly asked, "Did-"

"It had nothing to do with you," Lanie said in a rush before he could finish his question. "Just checking."

"Okay," Castle said with a nod as he knew she'd tell him later. "You're staying here right? You and the boys?"

"If you don't mind," Lanie said.

"Kate would be… angry with me if I did," Castle replied. "Are they back?"

"We came together, I'll tell them," Lanie said. "But think I could say goodnight to them?" She smiled when before Castle could respond to that the two were hurrying to her and hugging her tightly. "Sweet dreams Eliza."

"Thank you," the toddler said seriously before looking up at her. "You too."

"I will," Lanie said, kissing the top of her head before doing the same to Julia. She turned then to go when she saw that Alexis, Martha and Jim were coming over from the top of the staircase. "Just in time, he's about to put her to bed," she told them.

Going over to her son as soon as she was inside Eliza's room, Martha murmured to him, "I'll stay with her until she falls asleep if you'd like."

"I think I'd prefer to," Castle said.

"Me too," Julia said, having come after her grandmother.

"Of course," Martha said, squeezing his arm before leaning down and pressing a kiss to Julia's forehead.

"Night Grandpapa," Eliza was saying as she was in his arms. She hugged him and shared a kiss with him before telling him, "Love you."

"I love you too honey," Jim replied before he handed her to Martha.

"Night Gram, love you too," Eliza said as soon as she was in her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Goodnight darling and I love you so much," Martha replied.

Alexis took her little sister after she and their grandmother had shared a kiss with her, and she smiled when Eliza kissed her cheek. "I love you too Lizzy, sleep tight," she said to her before kissing her.

"Love you 'lexis," Eliza replied, her eyes wide as she was placed in her father's arms next. As he sat on the edge of the bed she hugged Julia who was next to him as tightly as she could saying, "Love you Julia, lots, lots."

"Me too Lizzy, I love you," the little girl replied before she stood up so their father could tuck the toddler in.

Castle did the best he could with the covers and took his youngest's hug around his neck before sharing a kiss with her. "I love you sweetheart," he said as seriously as he could. He then kissed her again and murmured, "So does your mommy, she loves you Eliza."

"I love her too," the toddler said with a whimper. When her father hurried to sit down next to her and stroked her forehead she felt a little better but couldn't stop thinking of her mother, wishing she was there too.

Leaning against Castle as they were left alone then, Julia hugged him tightly as they watched Eliza slowly fall asleep. It took a long time and she knew as soon as her father had picked her up that it was time for her to go to bed. "Daddy…" she started to say in protest as he took her into her room.

"You need to get some rest," Castle said before he set her down in front of her grandfather who was sitting in her armchair; he, Martha and Alexis in the room waiting for them.

"He's right but we're here Julia," Jim said as he took his granddaughter into his arms and held her tightly. "And I love you too, very much honey."

"I love you Grandpapa," Julia whispered, pressing close to him. She smiled briefly when he kissed her temple and she shared a kiss with him before going to Martha who was sitting on the edge of her bed with her sister.

"You're so brave darling, I'm so proud of you," Castle's mother told her as she embraced her closely.

"I didn't do anything," Julia replied simply.

"You've taken care of your little sister and that is very important," Martha replied. "And you know I love you too Julia."

"I love you Gram," the little girl replied before sharing a kiss with her. She went to her sister and hugged her tightly saying, "And you 'lexis, I love you too. I'm glad you're here."

"So am I Jules," Alexis replied. "Love you." She then shared a kiss with her sister before she and Martha got up and then left the room. The last in the doorway she looked back and saw that her father was sitting on the edge of the bed, Julia cradled in his arms. The sight made tears prick her eyes as she could almost literally feel their pain missing Beckett and she hurried to follow her grandmother and Jim down the stairs before she burst into tears for them.

"I wish…" Julia sighed, her tears running down her cheeks.

"Don't," Castle told her quickly, pressing his lips to her forehead. "You know your mom wouldn't want you to think like that."

Smiling a little at that, though her chin trembled, Julia said, "Ac-cen-tchu-ate the positive?"

"She does love that saying," Castle said, since they all loved it; and the song; even Eliza. "But it will take some time of course and then we'll find her."

"But Daddy," Julia protested as she struggled to sit up and look at him. "Don't you want her here tonight?"

"Are you scared?" Castle asked, guessing quickly what both girls were afraid of.

"A little," Julia confessed slightly hesitantly. "I know you and Macca are here but it doesn't feel right."

Sighing, Castle lost his veneer of trying to appear positive and nodded saying, "I agree."

Burying her face in her father's neck, Julia hugged him tightly and said, "I wish she was here for you Daddy."

"I'll be-" Castle started to say.

"Aren't you gonna be lonely when you go to bed?" Julia then asked, peering up at him.

Since he hadn't really planned on going to bed, Castle instead told his daughter, "You should get some sleep okay?"

Feeling a rush of sadness; as she knew the answer to her question without him having said a word; Julia got into bed without any problems and she hugged him tightly around the neck again. "I love you Daddy," she told him. Tears filled her eyes and said, "And Mommy too."

"Tell her that in your mind, or," Castle said, letting her go to point out the window. "Tell the stars, she'll see them and know."

"She will?" Julia asked hopefully. When her father nodded, she breathed in deeply and got up on her knees so she could part the blinds. "I love you too Mommy, come home soon."

Running his hand over the back of Julia's head, Castle felt his throat getting choked up from emotion watching her heartfelt plea. When she was lying down again he shared a kiss with her telling her, "I love you sweetheart." He then gave her another kiss and said, "And that's from your mommy, telling you she loves you too."

It was then that Julia suddenly recalled that her mother had done the same thing before she'd left; kissing them twice; and she nodded as her father tucked her in. Holding onto her Stitch doll as tightly as she could, she watched him settle on the edge of the bed. As he smoothed her hair away from her forehead she told herself to not sleep until he looked like he was going to sleep as well. But despite her best efforts she nodded off before she realized she was doing it, not knowing the relief of her father when she did.

Leaving Julia and Macca to their slumber, Castle stepped into the hall and leaned against the wall before he heard steps on the staircase next to him. Looking over he saw it was Alexis and he let her lead him down, feeling a sudden exhaustion that had nothing to do with a need for sleep.

Looking up as her son and granddaughter entered the room, Martha sighed when she saw the expression on his face and she went over to them, helping Castle to the couch. "You can't give up hope," she told him as she sat on one side of him and Alexis the other.

"No, I'm not," Castle replied. "I would know if…"

"You would," Martha said in understanding as she studied him after he'd trailed off. "Yes, you would," she said with more force then. "They're starting to return to the hotel they're staying in," she then said, nodding towards the kitchen.

"But some are staying," Castle stated.

"I have a few agents that will remain," Sorenson said, appearing in the doorway with Shaw and Wainwright.

"We'll come at the case afresh tomorrow; barring anything getting to us tonight," Wainwright said. "They'll call us."

"Agent Shaw," Castle said, standing up quickly as the three were turning to leave. He then followed them to the entry and waited for the two agents to leave before he turned to her. "He wants to write a big ending for this book."

"We've talked about that already," Shaw replied before she paused and comprehended what he was saying. "I can't really allow that and I don't believe Sorenson would let you follow them."

Shaking his head a little furiously, Castle said, "If Chief Davis gives me permission…"

Looking at him knowingly, Shaw said, "I'm still not sure but considering what happened when Beckett brought you to save me, I'd be more inclined to agree. We'll see what happens." She turned to leave herself but paused and then said, looking at him, "Your memory?" At his slightly miserable shake of his head she nodded herself and then left the house, promising they'd be back early the next morning.

Closing and locking the door, Castle walked back to the family room but paused when he saw that the boys and Lanie were with his father in law in the kitchen. He decided he was very thirsty for coffee and he went down the hall to his friends and family as his mother and daughter joined them. Though as they were talking he couldn't help think of his wife, wondering if she was okay in that moment and thinking of them as well.

* * *

The ground underneath her was smooth and cool to the touch and Beckett would have thought she'd been left on a sheet of ice if some kind of granular material wasn't scraping her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly; trying to see beyond the ring of light that she saw was surrounding her but without much success.

Pushing herself up carefully; lest she collapse again from what had been injected into her; Beckett found she was alright and quickly stood, running up to the bars that surrounded her. Shaking them as hard as she possibly could, she wasn't surprised when they didn't budge.

"I wouldn't really do that," a voice said from the darkness.

Squinting, Beckett was soon able to see that it was Dunn, walking up to her cell she was trapped in. He didn't stop until he was right up against the bars, making her quickly take a few steps back in reaction. "Where's Rick?" she asked him a little angrily.

Smiling at that Dunn replied, "Disposed of, he's not needed until the very final scene. So you will see him again… well, that depends of course on how I finally decide what the best way to end the story is."

Beckett didn't respond to that, having had enough of playing into his idea that he was any kind of a writer after she'd done so in the other room. She just stared at him until he gave a suffering sigh and began to speak again.

"You've been warned," Dunn said simply. "I would prepare yourself; it makes the killer more magnanimous of course. And tortures the victim at the same time."

Watching him leave until he was swallowed by the darkness, Beckett breathed out deeply as she saw a rectangle of light above. She wasn't sure if it made that much difference that she was in the basement but then decided that since she knew she was alone she needed to try and see if she could get out. She hurried to the wall and looked closely at each bar, realizing they were punched into the stone it was made of and reinforced. She then went along the floor, trying every single bar to check if one had come loose. But when she'd reached the lock, she was left with one more chance and found that quickly dashed as she pulled the padlock holding her cell door closed and it didn't give.

Not giving up yet, Beckett cupped her hands over her eyes, peering into the darkness to see what she might use to her advantage. But from what she was able discern there was nothing around her, except for a blemish in the floor that she couldn't make out. As a last resort she began to shake the door of the cell; what she thought would be the weakest point in that cell. But it didn't budge and she stood for a moment in complete silence, just listening. All that she heard though were the muffled sound of voices above and in front of her and the waves breaking on shore behind her.

With a sigh, Beckett reached up to her necklace, trying to grab the pendant when all she came upon was her own sweater. She searched her neck for the chain but was quickly able to tell it wasn't there. It was then she knew she wasn't going to be able to get out, at least not in the dark of night and she went back to the wall, sitting up against it. She bent her knees and wrapping her arms around them she leaned forward, seeing that she still had on her wedding band and engagement ring.

Very quickly, Beckett's mind went to her daughters and husband, knowing the former were safe at home with family and friends there. But as for Castle she was a little less sure of his safety. She hoped that he had been uninjured when they'd been separated, though something in her; some instinct; seemed to tell her that he was alright. She smiled briefly as she knew what her husband would have to say to that if he'd heard her and she sighed, leaning her head back. She only hoped he'd made it home, wanting at least him there for their daughters since she knew they'd need him to get through the night.

The thought of spending hours there alone and cold made Beckett shiver; in the years since their marriage it had become extremely rare for her and Castle to spend a night apart. She tried to think back to the last time they had done that and it wouldn't come to mind as it'd been a while since either of them had taken an overnight trip somewhere alone. It was then that she recalled what she'd seen out the window as a wave sounded particularly loud as it smashed on the shore. "Ashmore Dunes… Rick you have to know by now where it was," she whispered, glancing towards a window she'd been able to tell was in the wall to her right.

Beckett was slightly confused as to why Castle wasn't able to find her at those dunes yet and she realized two things. Either her husband was unconcious still; which she didn't like to think about; or he couldn't remember. And she recalled then when he'd gone unconcious the attackers had literally thrown him to the floor, making him strike his head. She breathed out at that and murmured, "Ashmore, Rick. Remember that at least…"

Shivering a little as the cold in the room hit her, Beckett pulled her coat tighter against her. She glanced at her rings again and rubbed her thumb underneath the band a few times, thinking about the girls. She knew she shouldn't do that but since she was stuck where she was her mind couldn't help going in that direction. There was a part of her subconscious that wanted to hate herself for having put them through everything but she couldn't stay behind while there had been a chance to find Castle.

While she knew that she could spend a very long time thinking about what she should or shouldn't have done, Beckett got up and went over to the corner of the cell. She looked out the window and judging by how dark she could tell the sky was and how cold it had become she guessed that it was later that night. Since she wasn't sure what she was going to end up facing the next day she decided to try and get some semblance of rest and went back to the wall where she sat back down, putting her right shoulder against it.

Though she closed her eyes to try and get some sleep, Beckett didn't feel in the least bit tired and found that instead she was remembering. They were random memories as she had no real control over them, seeing Julia when she had first seen the little girl, when she and Castle had first kissed and Eliza's first smile. But her mind went back to her husband that time and she opened her eyes giving up on attempting to rest as she leaned her head against the chill of the brick wall.

Shifting her position a little to become more comfortable, Beckett crossed her arms over herself to try and keep warm. She wasn't sure why but when she had stopped moving she found her mind had conjured up the image of her husband; though well before he'd become that to her. She was recalling the morning after she had gone to him and they'd made love for the first time, before she had left him to make coffee. She couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face at that but it soon slipped away as that part of her subconscious that was more negative was trying to make her face the fact that she might not be able to make it out of there alive.

Beckett made a short sound of annoyance that echoed in the basement, and she turned her mind to the next day. "I could try…" she said, not realizing that inside her head she was talking to her husband. "I could try surprising them. There's only room for one person inside of this cell if I took them down it'd leave six." At that number she had to sigh, knowing that while she was adept at self defense she wasn't a superhero. She closed her eyes, imagining the moment in her mind.

Cursing the darkness a little in her mind at that point, Beckett wasn't sure that she should even begin to plan without knowing the layout of the basement. So she relaxed, trying to sleep as she knew she would have to wake up before Dunn and the other men came down to get her. But she found that yet again her memories were vivid, so much so she could almost see them. She gave up in trying to fight them back and let them come to her, soon finding they were a comfort if she didn't dwell on the fact she couldn't just get up and go to her husband and their daughters as they were mainly focused on them.

Another smile appeared on Beckett's face briefly as one memory from before they had even known Julia came to her. It had been very shortly after she had gone back to her administrative leave to wait out the rest of it before she could return to duty. She and Castle had spent a large part of that time becoming more comfortable as a couple once they'd identified Bracken as her mother's killer. Her mind drew her back to the day after they'd left the station together, more specifically the morning after, wondering how it was she could almost feel like she was in bed with him at her place as she closed her eyes again.

* * *

_Feeling a word mumbled into her neck, Beckett smiled widely as she guessed it was her name, though she couldn't entirely be sure. "So that was enough?" she teased him._

_"Nowhere near," Castle said simply before he pushed himself up on his hands above her. "But I'm starting to feel last night catching up to me."_

_"That wasn't my fault," Beckett said simply. She watched him leave her then, turning onto her side as he threw on a pair of pajama pants that he had been wearing the night before when they'd mutually instigated their lovemaking._

_"I'll come back," Castle murmured, leaning over her and kissing her. He was nearly stopped in leaving by her, their tongues tangling around each other swiftly within her mouth. But finally he was able to force himself away and he went out to her kitchen, preparing the first of two mugs of coffee._

_Sitting up against her headboard, Beckett held the bed sheet over her body, looking at the white fabric a little absently. She had to wonder how her fantasies about the man who was now her boyfriend had been so wrong but she wasn't sure how she could have known what exactly he'd be like as that; more specifically as a lover. She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice Castle coming into the room, handing her a mug once he'd reached the bed. She thanked him and took a sip before he was sitting next to her. "What?" she asked as she was a little startled to realize that he was staring at her a bit intently._

_"No just…" Castle started to say before he reached up and brushed her hair off her right cheek carefully. "I have a hard time realizing I'm here. Ouch!" he said when he felt her fingers nipping at his side. "What was that for?"_

_"Just so you know you're not dreaming; or fantasizing," Beckett said, smirking slightly as she brought her coffee up to her lips. She had expected him to react in slight annoyance but when he reached over and took her mug she nearly glared at him as she was enjoying the cup._

_"And you?" Castle asked, setting aside the mugs on the nightstand that was to his right._

_"Me what?" Beckett asked simply._

_"When I walked in here you were doing the same thing," Castle told her. "Fantasizing."_

_"I was not," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. She tensed up for a second in surprise at the feel of his lips on the side of her neck but very quickly relaxed into it, as tended to happen when he did that. It was something she had quickly noticed herself doing; not caring in the slightest that she did. She actually enjoyed it, a part of her liking the fact that she could submit to him so easily. She bit at her lower lip and with a sigh moaned, "Oh god Rick, again?"_

_Shuddering at his use of her name, Castle moved to look into her eyes and said, "As long as you admit it."_

_"Admit what? And I was asking you not stating," Beckett said determinedly._

_Seeing the look in her eyes, Castle smiled and said, "You weren't, I could tell in your tone." He then quickly continued as she started to open her mouth to protest that and told her, "Admit that you were fantasizing about me."_

_"I was thinking about what to do with the other bedroom," Beckett said simply, staring him straight in the eye._

_"Oh, you can lie to me like that?" Castle said in mock incredulousness. "And what are you going to do with that room besides use it for storage and a guest room?"_

_Beckett wanted to think of a witty way to reply to that but she couldn't so she finally said, "I may have been. But I'm wondering if we're going to spend the rest of my… enforced time off doing this."_

_"Well, if you don't want to then by all means, let me know if there's something else you'd like to do," Castle said._

_Studying him, Beckett narrowed her eyes and said, "You're a little too self confident."_

_"Well considering how you were begging me just before to-" Castle started to say before she covered his mouth with her hand. He felt something brush against his stomach and he glanced down, not realizing his girlfriend was doing the same. He swallowed a little roughly before he literally had to wrench his gaze from her naked upper body back to Beckett, seeing that she was looking at him. But it was as if something had changed in that moment and he was quick to pull away the bed sheet the rest of the way off her body before he helped her lay down._

_Beckett took his kiss as eagerly as he was giving it to her and she was embroiled in their duel so intently that when he settled on top of her body she nearly jumped. But he was quick to calm her by brushing his lips in a long trail over her jaw. She sighed and murmured, "I don't really mind."_

_"Neither do I," Castle replied, his tone completely serious._

_Her arms and legs wrapping tightly around him, Beckett took him into her body and moved with him, making love with him as their lips never strayed far from each other. It eased the ache of her body though it never suppressed it as it was constantly growing, making her desire him even more than she was before they had begun. She was moaning his name and hearing him whisper hers huskily into her ear left her trembling, needing far more than one time as there was a lot more she would need satisfied from him._

* * *

Coming back to herself as she didn't want to torment herself with the memory of them making love for any longer, Beckett was a little startled to feel a tear slip down her cheek. She chastised herself in her mind while wiping away the moisture, telling herself that she could get out, all the needed to do was to wait for the morning to better plan for what would come.

But she couldn't shake her thoughts of her family and her desire to get back to them was strong. So much so that Beckett had to hold herself rigid, in an attempt to keep from breaking down completely. She finally was able to relax once she'd done so and she lay down on the ground; of the mind to get that rest she had continuously told herself she needed.

Before Beckett closed her eyes she murmured to herself, "I'm going home," which swiftly became a mantra in her head. Repeating that she soon fell asleep, her dreams reminding her of what she was going to be fighting to get back home to the next morning. And she would find that that would help her more when she awoke than anything else she could do to prepare herself as the night slipped into the morning of the next day.


	14. In My Hour Of Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Let It Be by The Beatles, from their album of the same name.

"Bro?" Esposito asked, knocking on the doorway of the office.

Turning around, Castle asked, "Yeah, do you need something?"

"No, just checking to see if you're alright," Esposito replied, walking up to where he was sitting at his laptop. He looked at the screen, not surprised to see the man was looking at pictures of him with Beckett and their daughters.

"Did Ryan ask you to do that?" Castle asked, looking up at him.

"No," Esposito said, sounding a little insulted. "I've watched you since you came back and you look like you'd gun down Dunn yourself if you could find him."

"Well… it would stand to reason," Castle said with a slight nod. "But besides that I'm okay."

"Shouldn't you get some sleep?" Esposito asked. When the writer just stared at him he said, "Yeah, Ryan told me to tell you that; Lanie too."

Shaking his head, Castle replied, "I'm going to be too wired, so I'll probably stay down here until I'm ready to get some sleep."

Esposito wanted to comment on that but hearing the tone of voice he used he knew that his friend wasn't going to want to take his advice. So he simply said, "Alright, then I'll see you in the morning." He wasn't surprised when Castle merely nodded to that and he left, going up the stairs to the bedroom he was staying in.

"He didn't move?" Lanie asked, looking out from the bedroom she was in.

"No, I don't think he will," Esposito replied. "Probably will fall asleep at his laptop."

"I wonder if Kate knows…" Lanie said absently.

"Knows what?" Esposito asked her.

"How much he loves her?" Ryan suggested, coming over to them. When Lanie nodded he said, "I think she does, she wouldn't be with him still." He then looked at his partner and asked, "Did you ask if he remembered anything?"

"It was unnecessary," Esposito replied. "Would have told me as soon as he saw me," he pointed out.

"I was hoping," Ryan shrugged.

"We should head back to our rooms," Lanie told them as she glanced down the hall. "Get some rest."

The two detectives nodded to her and went to their bedrooms before they closed the doors, Lanie glancing down at the girls' rooms before she went inside and closed her door. The hall was silent, as was the rest of the house though not everyone was sleeping.

Looking at the picture of Beckett helping Eliza stand on the top step of the pool, Castle smiled a little at the memory and he went to the next few until he had reached the pictures from their trip to San Francisco. His mother had taken it and they'd been at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park watching the model boats. Eliza was laughing and reaching towards the camera while Beckett was smiling and leaning her head to hers. He had to wonder if he'd ever told her that she was an amazing mother, though he was quick to remind himself that had, whenever he felt she wouldn't mind being reminded of it.  
It was then that Castle understood what Beckett had gone through in Canada, though he knew he couldn't fully comprehend it as he was aware she was alright still. He smiled a little to himself as the next picture was of them on the beach, a selfie that he and Beckett had taken with Julia as his mother and Eliza had been dipping their feet in the water. He was still thinking of his memory loss but was also trying to use the pictures at the same time in an attempt to distract himself. So he went back to them to try and continued to do that, opening another folder; that time of pictures from Jamaica and Antigua.

Peering around the doorway, Julia saw that her father was looking at the screen of his laptop. She bit her lower lip when he suddenly bowed his head into his hands and she walked in, touching his arm and making him jump.

"Julia," Castle said when he turned and saw it was here. "Sweetheart, you need to be asleep," he told her as he picked her up, placing her on his lap.

"I woke up," the little girl replied honestly as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You had a nightmare didn't you?" Castle asked. When she nodded he sighed and then kissed the top of her head saying, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I just saw Mommy in the window of the doors of a classroom at school, hitting it," Julia replied, shivering hard at the sudden memory. "And I had to walk; I wasn't allowed to leave the line of kids." She then looked up at him and said, "Is that how you feel?"

"It is," Castle replied with a nod. "But about your nightmare-"

"I know it's not real, it's how I feel," Julia said with a sigh. She then looked up at her father and said, "They're worried about you."

"Your uncles and aunt?" Castle guessed. He wasn't surprised when she nodded and he then had to smile slightly as he said, "They're doing that for your mom, she wouldn't want me to be like this. Even though I can't help it."

They were quiet for a while before Julia said, "Daddy?"

"Yeah," Castle asked, watching her reach for the mouse. He was slightly amused when she scrolled through the Caribbean pictures and stopped on one before opening it. When he saw that it was one she herself had taken; he and Beckett in the clear sea, her behind him with her arms over his shoulders as they were both laughing. "Did you have something to ask?" he said when she still didn't continue.

Watching the picture, Julia said, "When you and Mommy met, she said she wasn't really happy you were there."

"Believe it or not," Castle said, not sure why reminiscing helped him but taking the opportunity his daughter was providing wholeheartedly as he thought it might help her as well. "I was incredibly immature then."

"Yeah?" Julia asked.

"Oh, ask your mom about that specifically and she could tell you examples that'll last all day, days," Castle said before correcting himself. He then smiled as he saw the little girl was looking at him doubtfully and he told her, "I know it's hard to believe me but I'm not kidding."

Frowning slightly, Julia then said seriously, "Tell me about when you knew you were in love with her and not just like."

"You've heard the story so many times…" Castle replied. He smiled when she pouted a little and he proceeded to fulfill her request and relayed again when he'd realized his feelings for his partner went far beyond wanting to become her lover or a passing interest, during the Dalton case and after. "I was a little immature in that too," he said towards the end.

Julia opened her mouth to speak but then said, "You weren't lucky like me, 'lexis and Eliza are."

"In what way?" Castle asked in surprise.

"That you didn't have a mommy and daddy in love," Julia replied; having learned about her unknown paternal grandfather when she was seven. "So how did you know what that was supposed to be like? From movies?" She shook her head before her father could reply to that and said, "That's not real."

"You're a smart little girl," Castle said, a smile on his face though he was feeling choked up again. He pressed a kiss to her temple and murmured, "I love you so much."

"'Cause I'm smart?" Julia asked him as she wrapped her arms around his neck while leaning against him.

"Well, that but also because you are a wonderful girl and I see a lot of your mom in you," Castle replied. When she squirmed slightly in what he knew was embarrassment he then said, "Want me to continue?"

"Please," Julia replied with a nod.

"Okay, well, it was the morning after your mom and I had dinner together at the comfort food truck," Castle replied, smiling at the memory. "And looking around my bed when I woke up, I realized that I had already placed her there."

"What does that mean?" Julia asked, a little confused.

"Meaning I was imagining your mom there," Castle said. "My dream that night had been her waking me up."

"Kissing you?" Julia inquired.

"Yeah, telling me she loved me," Castle replied. "That surprised me because I never dreamt of a woman doing that before. It made me see that there was a chance I could have what I had always wanted."

"Someone who loved you?" Julia suggested.

"Really loved me," Castle told her. When she nodded; since he'd told her that already too; he continued with, "And I wondered about her pushing me away, I realized that eventually she'd stopped doing that as much as she had when we first met. So I wondered if she could love me too, if I could prove to her I'd be a better man than I'd been at our first meeting."

Julia couldn't help smiling as she told him, "You told her she had pretty eyes, why didn't she like that?"

"Well, I think I came off as a little too sure of myself," Castle said. "And she liked me even then."

"I asked Mommy that once," Julia replied.

"Asked her what?" Castle said.

"Why she was so afraid," Julia answered. "And she said that she was afraid to get… hurt…" she started to say before she trailed off. "She never wanted to lose you. Oh Daddy, Mommy will be okay!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father as tightly as she possibly could.

"It's okay sweetie, you're right, she will," Castle assured her as he hugged her back as close. "Why don't we look at something else?"

"Wait, she also said that was the best thing she did," Julia hurriedly told him. "To stop being afraid and just love you, she's happy, so, so happy."

Smiling a little nostalgically at that, Castle replied, "She told me that before. And I told her that it was the best thing I did too, stop thinking I could make every woman the one and see what I needed when it walked up to me." When Julia softly giggled he then added, "Showing her NYPD badge too."

"I wish I could have seen that," the little girl replied. She then said, "Tell me another story Daddy."

"About what?" Castle asked, knowing he should put her to bed but not feeling like she would want to sleep yet.

"I don't know…" Julia replied, before looking around them. "What about when you and Mommy first kissed."

"That story you know too," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when she urged him to tell her and he said, "You know the case that she and I were on and your uncles had been kidnapped."

"Yeah, you found them 'cause of a phone call," Julia recalled. "You tracked the phone of the man who took them and found them. But there was someone watching the door where they were?"

"That's right. Your mom was unsure of getting in to them by ourselves but I decided that if we pretended we weren't there to go in it would be enough to start getting Esposito and Ryan out," Castle continued.

"And you decided to kiss her," Julia said. She smiled and then told him, "Is that the only reason why you wanted to kiss her?"

Castle sighed; as he hadn't told her that before; and finally said, "No, I did want to kiss her but the more important thing was-"

"Getting _Tio_ Javi and Uncle Ryan out," Julia interrupted him. "But it was a nice kiss?"

"Two kisses," Castle said, smiling himself at her willfully forgetting the events so he would continue. "I think the first one startled your mommy since I stopped her from getting her gun to do that. And when she realized what I meant to do, she went along with it." He then pulled his head back a little to look at her and said, "Did your mom ever tell you what she thought about that?"

"Mommy never told you?" Julia asked in surprise. When her father shook his head no she then said hurriedly, needing him to know, "She said that she enjoyed that kiss but wished it wasn't 'cause you needed to pretend."

"She did?" Castle asked, startled.

"Yeah and she enjoyed it," Julia replied, repeating that on purpose.

Smiling slightly, Castle leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head saying, "I'm glad to hear that, since I've enjoyed your mom's kisses continuously since that one or those I should say."

"Does that mean all the time?" Julia asked.

"Yep, it does," Castle replied.

"I'm glad," Julia said, a wide smile on her face before it started to drop off. "When she comes back, tell her that."

"She knows," Castle replied as he saw her slightly concerned expression. "But I will tell her that I love her and I'm happy with her, very happy."

"Good," Julia said simply. "Another Daddy."

"Julia-" Castle started to say, knowing he couldn't wait any longer to put her back to bed.

"Please Daddy, I'm not tired yet," Julia protested.

Sighing deeply, Castle thought for a moment and then said, "Fine but one more and that's it okay?"

"Fine," Julia said. "You pick the story now."

Smiling at that, Castle then said, "I'm not sure what I could tell you, you know all the stories about us already."

"I can't know all of them," Julia said quickly. "There has to be something."

Thinking for a moment, Castle told her, "Did your mom ever tell you when I first told her I loved her?"

"She said that was going to be a scary story for me to hear," Julia said. "But she just said that you tried to save her life and told her you loved her. Is it that bad?"

"No, but you know the scar your mom has right?" Castle asked her.

"The one here?" Julia asked, touching her chest. When her father nodded she said, "Oh, when she was shot."

Startled at that, Castle said, "How do you know about that?"

"I heard you and Mommy talking about it one time and you said that you didn't want her to get hurt that much again," Julia replied. "Since it was here where your heart is, did she almost…" she started to say, not really wanting to finish that.

"She did, but a surgeon worked a miracle and saved her life," Castle said, absently as he recalled seeing his wife for the first time in the hospital and how she had still managed to make him react when her eyes had turned to him. "But when she was shot I tried to get her out of the way and when I saw what had happened; I was scared. And I told her that I loved her because I did and I thought it would keep her awake."

Hugging him tightly as she could tell that it was paining him to say that, Julia replied, "Another story, a happy one please."

Though he easily remembered him making her promise he could take her to bed after that story, Castle knew he'd made a major mistake in relating the story that he had. So with a nod he then said, "Do you remember our first time here all together at all?"

"Yeah," Julia said, smiling as that was one of her strongest memories from when she was four.

"That night your mom and I went out to dinner on our own," Castle said, framing it as more of a question to see if she recalled that as well. When she quickly nodded he then told her, "We went to dinner and after we stopped on a beach she asked me about your grandpa."

"She didn't know then?" Julia asked.

"No, I'd never told her because I didn't want her to feel sorry for me," Castle replied. "And I didn't want to think about it, since it made me a little sad and angry too." He studied his daughter, wondering what she would say to that but when she didn't reply he continued telling her, "If you're wondering why I did tell her she let me know that she wanted to know, to share the knowledge with me and its burden. That means the stress it put on me. And that really helped me see your mom as a partner for more than just solving crimes."

"For life?" Julia said.

"For life," Castle echoed with a firm nod. At the same time they turned to the screen of the laptop and the picture there before the little girl was scrolling through them again. He smiled at the photographs from their lives together before saying, "And after I'd told her, I knew it was going to be pretty impossible to ever forget her."

"Yeah, Mommy's special," Julia said firmly. "So you'll find her."

"I will," Castle said before he turned off the laptop and then picked her up. "But for now, we need to find your bed."

Julia wanted to object but her father didn't give her a chance as he went directly up the stairs before setting her down at the top and taking her hand. Before they could walk the rest of the way to her doorstep, she gasped as a shriek pierced the silence of the hall. "Daddy-" she started to say before he took off for her sister's room. She ran after him as fast as she could, seeing Macca following him inside.

As soon as he was in the room, Castle picked Eliza up as she was sitting up in her bed and literally weeping as she cried over and over, "I want Mommy." He carried her out and over to Julia's room; the little girl following wordlessly behind him with the dog; and sat on the edge of the bed saying, "Close the door so we won't wake anyone up."

"Is she gonna spend the night with me?" Julia asked as she was doing so.

"If you don't mind," Castle replied as the little girl climbed up next to him.

"No, I want her to," Julia said quickly before she hugged Eliza around her father's arms the best she could. "Did you have a nightmare Lizzy?"

"Yeah," the toddler said, sniffing heavily as she was still shaking.

"It's okay, whatever you saw it was just a dream," Castle told her. "Do you want to tell us what it was you saw?"

"Bad men with guns," Eliza replied tearfully. "And they took Mommy."

Sighing at that, Castle kissed her forehead and murmured, "I'm so sorry you saw that."

"Yeah, that was bad," Eliza whispered, shaking her head. She then said, "Mommy's kay?"

"Where she is," Julia hurriedly translated for their father.

"She is," Castle said as firmly as he could. "Are you okay now, do you feel a little better?" he asked when he noticed that she wasn't crying or sniffing anymore by then.

"Yes Daddy," Eliza said. She peered up at him and said, "You too? And Jules?"

"We're okay," Julia said quickly with a nod. "Want to hear a story?" she then asked, remembering how she had begun to feel a little better after her own nightmare and wanting their father to do the same for her little sister.

"Yeah," Eliza said softly, looking up at her father pleadingly.

When he looked down into her eyes; so much like her mother's; Castle sighed and said, "I'll pick something this time Julia. But only one story, after that I'm tucking you both in and staying with you until you fall asleep."

"What are you going to tell her?" Julia asked, wondering then what story about their parents he could say that wouldn't involve their work together.

"The day your mom and I got married," Castle said. He and Beckett had told Eliza the story before but since she was a little older he decided that would be a good story to calm her down and also get her to sleep. "You know you were with us that day."

"I was a baby?" Eliza asked, not quite remembering that story.

"You were in her tummy," Julia said quickly. "And very small, so you were there but you weren't born yet."

"She's right," Castle said with a nod when Eliza looked to him as if to confirm that. "Your mommy was absolutely stunning you know."

"Can I see the picture?" Eliza asked.

Smiling at that, Castle got his phone out of his pocket and opened the wedding picture of him and Beckett they'd taken after exchanging gifts. Eliza had seen that photo many times before, since she had it on her desk shelf along with one of him, Beckett and Julia when she'd come home from the hospital as a baby, but he knew she did love it so he couldn't begrudge her urge to look at it again. "And we told one another that we loved each other, very deeply and we were going to always," he continued before he was taking his phone back and putting it into his pocket.

"Can we look at your ring Daddy?" Julia asked him.

"Another time," Castle said, feeling like he shouldn't do that without Beckett there to put it back on for him.

"It says _prem_ on there," Julia told her sister; though they'd seen the inside of their parents' wedding bands many times before. "And that means-"

"Love," Eliza said immediately.

"Right and we promised that to each other," Castle said. "And then we were husband and wife."

"And you kissed," Eliza stated. When her father nodded she smiled and said, "Is that why you had a baby? Me?"

"We did, because we were in love, still are too," Castle said. He was a little startled when the toddler squeezed her arms around him as tightly as possible and he said, "Now I think you two really should get some sleep." He expected some kind of protest against what he'd said but when the girls yawned at the same time he stood to put Eliza on the side of the bed that was against the wall. He waited for Julia to lay down with her and he kissed their foreheads while he felt Macca jump onto the end on the bed where his blanket was. "Sweet dreams girls, I love you so much," he told them meaningfully.

"Love you Daddy," Julia said, glancing at her sister and not surprised to find that she was asleep as well. "So does Eliza."

"Go to sleep," Castle murmured to her. He then toed off his shoes and lay on the space left on the edge of the bed before he watched Julia wrap her arms around her sister. He wasn't surprised when it didn't take much time for his second oldest to fall asleep, knowing in the time it'd taken to go back over some of his and Beckett's relationship she had to have gotten exhausted. He got up carefully once he was sure they were both completely out and went to the armchair, carrying it over to the side of the bed so he could be there for them if he needed to be. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, telling himself he was just going to rest his eyes. But he was soon sleeping, and deeply, and found himself dreaming of his wife in what felt like an instant. It was no surprise as she was obviously still heavily on his mind in that moment and when he began to dream he knew his memories of their relationship were influencing him heavily, to his pleasure and also anguish.

* * *

_Her lips were soft and felt full underneath his own before they parted and he could see the slight surprise in her eyes before they kissed again. He completely forgot that they were trying to find their partners, taking the moment for what it was as he struggled not to kiss her as if he had a right to, enjoying her as much as he could before she was pulling away…_

_She was bleeding, her glove stained red with her own blood and he was holding her, bent over as around them everything else seemed in upheaval. He begged her to stay with him and then told her he loved her as he thought that might keep her from slipping away from him. He saw the tears escaping the corners of her eyes but they soon closed and he was left holding her unconcious body before someone was running up to him, not sure if he would ever be able to tell her how he felt about her again…_

_He was begging her to stop, to keep from throwing her life away in the pursuit of her mother's killer. But she wasn't listening to him and he was desperate so he told her that he loved her. He wasn't expecting a miracle and he didn't get one when she defiantly pushed aside his bearing his soul to her to run after the one thing that had been a weight on her shoulders since she was nineteen. He had given up in that moment as he realized she would never stop her search for anything or anyone and departed, though not without tearing a good part of his heart from his chest as he left her to her battle…_

_He had given up but she was there, at his door soaking wet and staring up at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. He was a little flippant, angry since he was still hurt, in his questioning her being there but when she came to him, her lips against his, he was a little lost. Recovering he had to stamp out the last flicker of hope that was within him and he held her by the wrists to realize that while she had lost her lead, she had come to him instead of chasing the man who'd shot her. He was hesitant, until he could see the track of the tears that had fallen down her cheek in her apology._

_It was the last thing he needed to break his resolve against her and he nearly attacked her, pushing the door closed as he crushed his lips to hers. There was no hesitation, no subterfuge, just them. His heart was thudding heavily in his chest as four years of having to suppress what he felt for her came to the surface and he didn't try to stop himself. When he finally had to he let her lead him to his bedroom where he'd imagined her so many times before._

_Pushing her hair past her shoulder he wanted to take her, indulge in what he'd only been able to conjure in his mind. But it didn't feel right to do that to her and he knew then that she was far more extraordinary than any woman he had or could have been with. He had to make her not regret taking the chance and coming to him. Laying her down on the bed, he kissed her before they finished what they'd already started, undressing each other before he was within her body. That moment he wasn't sure if he was literally dizzy or just making himself feel that way. But as he made love with her he felt everything falling into place and he kissed her passionately to relate to her his joy in having that part of her, needing it always…_

_Watching her with the little girl he couldn't help smiling at the way she pressed a kiss to her forehead and murmured something to her before tucking the covers around her. He had come to her in the weeks since she had become a mother off and on and he was still amazed to see the transformation in her. She was happier and that ended up reciprocating on himself as she pressed her lips against his gently when she reached him._

_Letting her take his hand, he followed her to her bedroom where she closed and locked the door._

_"Castle?" Beckett asked then, smiling at him._

_A little startled that his dream suddenly had dialogue to it, Castle was quick to go along with it and he spoke; ending up saying what he had when that memory had occurred, "Yeah?"_

_"You had a really strange look on your face," Beckett teased him as she turned on the light in the bathroom and looked back at him. "Is it still that surprising?"_

_"No," Castle said, realizing that while he was speaking, he was merely reliving that moment word for word. He didn't mind, as he could easily recall how that one had gone, and he then paid attention to the fact that he was approaching his girlfriend as he knew what was coming next. "I told you before; I do love seeing you like this. You love her."_

_"Of course I do, she is my daughter," Beckett replied. She smiled as he raised her hands to his lips and kissed the palms of both before she wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him as he immediately responded…_

_The transition; as his other memories had been; was swift though he didn't really find himself with a need to recover. Castle glanced around himself, seeing he was on the beach with chairs and a carpeted aisle reaching back to the grass in front of him. He saw Beckett at the end with her father and he smiled, that memory so vivid that he could nearly smell the salt of the water as Julia was running down the aisle to join her mother and grandfather._

_Taking his soon to be wife's hand in his, Castle was struck again by how she had looked that early Sunday morning. Reliving their vows was torture as he was aware in the dream of her missing but he still listened as attentively as he possibly could until he was finally kissing her, his wife…_

_Holding Eliza in his arms; a tiny week old baby; Castle looked up at his wife as she walked up to him and said, "You're getting used to it."_

_"I needed to," Beckett replied with a slight smirk. "You haven't seemed to lose your knack."_

_"I told you I was experienced," Castle joked. "She's not sleeping though."_

_"Probably because she's trying to figure out who you are," Beckett said as she walked over to them and took the baby's tiny hand. "The way she's staring at you."_

_"Yeah, she does look like she's trying to figure things out," Castle said with a nod. He felt lips brushing against his cheek and he looked up at his wife, smiling as he told her, "But I know she knows who you are."_

_Taking the baby, Beckett pressed her lips to her cheek and murmured to her gently in Irish before going back to the rocking chair where she'd just nursed Eliza. She looked up at Castle once she was gently moving back and forth, rubbing the baby's back._

_Holding his breath as he took in the scene of the two before him, Castle didn't really want it to end. But eventually he could tell that Eliza had fallen asleep and he was quick to follow Beckett over to the crib. As carefully as he could, he pressed his lips to the baby's forehead before watching his wife put her down. Taking her hand he led the way out and as soon as they were far enough away from the room he was wrapping his arms around his wife as tightly as he could, kissing her deeply._

_Beckett was a little startled at the ferocity of the kiss but responded to it, not letting much time pass before she was doing that. When they slowly parted for air she smiled and said, "You need to be careful."_

_"I know," Castle groaned. "Three to six weeks. I'm not sure how I'm going to take it."_

_"You will because you know I'm going to have to do the same," Beckett reminded him._

_"How sweet, both of us having to repress our desire, that's nice," Castle said. He started laughing when she shoved his shoulder before she hurriedly quieted him. "Sorry, why don't we have something to drink and relax until she gets up?"_

_"You know," Beckett told him as they started to go down the stairs. "There's nothing wrong with kissing me just…"_

_"Moderation," Castle finished for her. When she smiled and then continued ahead of him he raced after her, knowing he wasn't going to stop wanting her in any way he could get her at that moment; perfectly fine with that idea as he took her back in his arms and kissed her again…_

_Sitting behind the three, Castle's expression was one of contentment as they were letting the waves wash over their hands and legs. He stood up; having no control over himself and knowing it was the memory that did; and went to them, picking up a fourteenth month old Eliza, kissing her cheek._

_"Dada," the baby giggled, turning to him and sharing a kiss with him._

_"So you decided to join us?" Beckett said as she watched him kiss Julia then as their oldest was on her knees and wrapping her arms around his neck._

_"Why not? I was pretty lonely back there," Castle replied._

_"But now you're not 'cause you're here with us," Julia said simply._

_"Right," Castle told her before he reached over to her mother and cupped Beckett's cheek. He leaned over enough to kiss her and once they met he was struggling to not deepen things more than they were. Luckily his wife seemed to remember what they were trying not to do and pulled away first. "So, what are we doing?" he asked as he finally wrenched his gaze away from her._

_"Sitting," Julia said._

_"Ah, true, I should have seen that when I was watching you guys back there," Castle replied, smiling as Julia and then Eliza giggled at that. "So what about making a sandcastle or swimming?"_

_"Mommy said not yet," Julia replied as Eliza stood up with their father's help._

_Taking the baby when she nearly fell into her arms, Beckett said, "But a sandcastle will be nice, it'll be her first."_

_Realizing that she was right, Castle was quick to get the tools that had been just Julia's before the baby was old enough to share them. Sitting back with them, he helped the two to make a moderate sized sandcastle and let Beckett take a few pictures before he urged their daughters to destroy it. "Yeah, your big sister loved that," he said with a laugh as Beckett took the girls into her arms and kissed them._

_Smiling as Castle took a picture of them then, Julia said, "Did she like making them more or smashing them more?"_

_"That's a good question," Castle said. "I don't know." He then looked with her at Eliza who was loudly yawning and with a slight grin said, "Nap?"_

_"I think so," Beckett replied, standing up. With her husband's help they got the girls cleaned up and took them inside before she noticed that Julia was yawning as well. "I think they're both going to need a nap," she commented._

_"Can I swim after?" Julia asked hopefully._

_"We'll all swim," Castle said for his wife. "Down at the pool." He smiled when Julia did the same in pleasure at that and he held her against his side before they went into Eliza's room. After getting both girls into bed; their youngest in her crib; and Julia on top of Eliza's bed; he and Beckett were alone. Without a word to her he was taking her hand, dragging her to their room; exactly what he'd done when that event had actually happened. "Love," he breathed._

_"Rick," Beckett said with a smile. She gently pushed on his shoulders to make him take a step away from him and untied her wrap around her waist before his hands were over her hips. She didn't stop as he tried to pull her close and she tugged the tie on the bra of her bikini before that fell to the floor…_

_For a moment there was nothing but black and Castle wondered if he was going to stay in that same spot as nothing changed in front of him. But finally there was the color blue, then white growing and changing until finally he was in his and Beckett's bedroom. He wasn't sure when or where he was but he soon saw his wife coming around from the back of the bed and he said, "Kate, when are we?"_

_"When?" Beckett asked as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "That doesn't matter."_

_"I have to find you," Castle said, knowing then that was not a memory. He was a little surprised when she merely leaned over in response to that, kissing him deeply on the lips before pulling back. "Love…" he started to say as she cupped his face in her hands._

_Beckett kissed him very gently, tenderly, before she was pulling away from him and stroking his lower lip with her thumb. "Come here," she said then, letting go of him._

_A little startled, Castle didn't follow at first but she turned to look at him over her shoulder. When she gave a soft laugh he was pushing himself up off the bed, that laugh never having failed to make his heart beat a little crazily when he heard it, that time no exception. "What is it?" he asked once he reached her at the windows._

_Beckett didn't say anything, only nodded outside, the smile staying on her face as he followed her gaze._

_Looking out, Castle saw something was wrong with the beach in front of their house. The sand was piled into ridges and he turned to his wife saying, "What happened?"_

_"They're dunes, remember?" Beckett replied._

_Castle jumped when she suddenly disappeared and he felt the heat of sand underneath his feet before he said, "There's a sign… Ashmore…_ Kate!"

* * *

Jerking himself awake, Castle sat up seeing that the girls were struggling to get up in Julia's bed as he was still in her armchair. He groaned and ran his hand over his face at his dream that had felt so real; from beginning to end; before his second oldest spoke.

"Daddy what's wrong? Are you okay?" Julia asked in a slight panic as her sister was clutching at her arm tightly.

"Girls, no I'm fine," Castle said quickly. He then remembered what he'd said right before his wife's name and murmured, "Ashmore… Julia, can you watch your sister for me?"

"Yeah but why?" Julia asked as she heard her sister sniff and knew she was going to start crying.

"I think I know how to find your mom," Castle said, jumping up and running out of the room. He could tell it was later in the morning as he rushed down to the first floor, wondering how long he'd slept before he turned towards the kitchen and nearly ran into Esposito.

"Bro, what-" the detective said while he had to help Castle straighten himself as he was slipping in his socks. "Where are your shoes?" he asked before the man rushed past him.

"Ashmore Dunes," Castle said as soon as he'd reached the island where Sorenson, Wainwright and Shaw were standing, looking at a map.

"What's that?" Wainwright said as they all stared at him.

"Someplace local I bet," Brad replied, having been leaning against the counter in front of the sink. "Enos!" he called to the nook where some of his officers were.

"Yeah, I know what that is," the officer replied. "That was an old neighborhood in North Sea. Ashmore was self contained and didn't last long. There are some old abandoned buildings; the safest one left was the Ashmore Dunes B&B."

Turning to the FBI agents, Castle watched as they looked down to the map as Enos went to them and pointed out where he thought the building was. "Is it on the computer?" he asked the agent at one end of the island who was behind a laptop.

"Right here, off of Dune Route," the man said.

"Are we going to go?" Castle asked, almost impatiently when the agents went to look at the screen.

"You mean us," Sorenson said, looking at him.

"No, I'm coming-" Castle began to say.

"Mr. Castle, you're a civilian-" Sorenson said before he was cut off.

"Deputize me," Castle said, turning to Brad.

"Chief Davis," Sorenson said angrily.

Studying his friend, Brad nodded and motioned for Castle to follow him, ignoring both Sorenson and Wainwright who were protesting them leaving as he said, "I wouldn't normally do this but I can tell you're not going to run into there without any regard for your own safety." He paused at the staircase and nodded up so his friend could see that his daughters were there.

"Yeah, don't worry," Castle told him as they went to the entry. He put on shoes quickly before following him out to the porch and to his cruiser. "My mother-" he started to say as he realized he hadn't seen her, Alexis or Jim.

"They offered to get coffee and donuts for us," Brad replied as he went to the passenger side and pulled something out. "This is hers," he said.

"I figured," Castle replied, taking the gun.

"So you're hereby deputized Richard Castle, do not misuse this or I'll have to take back what I just said," Brad told him. "Go, change and get ready because as soon as they have a strategy they're going to go."

"Guys," a voice called then before Castle could reply to that. David hurried down to them and asked, "What's going on?"

"Explain to him," Castle said simply before he left. He paused and then added, "And don't forget about this," holding up the gun. He then went back inside the house, storing his wife's weapon on the top shelf of the entry closet where the girls couldn't reach before literally running up the stairs. "Girls," he said as he saw that they were peeking out of Julia's doorway. Though he knew he had to hurry, he went to them and knelt in front of them saying, "I need to go right now," very simply, not sure if he wanted to say why and get their hopes up.

"Do you know where Mommy is?" Julia asked softly.

"I think we do," Castle said, not surprised that she had guessed. "But we don't know for sure yet."

"So you're going to go with them to look aren't you?" Julia asked.

"I have to," Castle said. He was surprised when both suddenly started to cry and he hurriedly hugged them to him saying, "I'll be safe. I know you two are going to worry so I'll make sure I'm okay. So will Brad."

"He will," a voice said at the bottom of the stairs. When Castle and the girls appeared at the top Alexis smiled at them a little weakly before saying, "And you know Brad will definitely watch out for him."

"I need you to watch them," Castle said hurriedly, directing that to his mother and Jim who were behind his daughter. "I'm going with them."

Martha was going to ask him how they'd gotten their obvious lead but when her son ran down the hall to his room she sighed and said, "Do you two know about this?" as she walked up with Jim and Alexis to the girls who were looking concerned.

Shaking her head, Julia said, "I don't know what happened, but I think Daddy saw in his dream where Mommy was."

Since they were leading the two down to their rooms, Jim shared a glance with Martha before he said, "What makes you think that?"

"He was sleeping in the chair right there," Julia replied, pointing to the armchair that was still next to her bed. "And I woke up 'cause he was saying Mommy's name and saying love." She frowned slightly and then added, "And he groaned too like he was hurt and sad too. And then he woke up before I could wake him up, he said…"

"Dunes," Eliza reminded her sister.

"Yeah, dunes and then Ashmore," Julia said, nodding her head in agreement. "And that was when he woke up almost yelling Mommy's name. It scared us," she admitted. "I thought-"

"Me too," Eliza cut in quickly.

"We thought he was having a nightmare," Julia added, nodding to her sister. "Do those words mean anything?"

"I think… wasn't there an Ashmore here to the north of us?" Martha asked her granddaughter. "A long time ago?"

"Very, they stopped calling it that in the seventies," Alexis replied. She was going to speak when she heard footsteps and paused to turn to look behind them.

When he'd gone into his room, Castle paused and looked around for a moment, remembering his dream. He pushed himself to walk to the closet, trying not to recall that she had been there with him and she had felt so real that he could have blurred the lines between it and the present time. Shaking himself, he hurried into fresh clothes and brushed his hair as fast as was possible before he went out and heard Alexis speaking before his mother did.

"I wonder why there," Martha mused, not hearing the footsteps.

"You two know about Ashmore?" Castle asked in surprise as he walked over to them.

"We've been to North Sea before and have seen signs," Alexis replied as her father picked up Eliza, hugging her tightly. "Is that where you were?"

"The room where we were in had a set of small windows above the ones that were covered," Castle told them hurriedly as he was also keeping an ear out for the agents downstairs. "Kate went on my shoulders and looked out and she saw a sign that said Ashmore Dunes, I couldn't remember until just now." He then turned to Eliza and said, "I love you sweetie and so does your mom, a lot."

Smiling slightly tearfully, the toddler said, "Mommy said that too."

"When she was leaving," Julia said, pressing her face against his side.

"Girls I told you; and I mean it; I will come home," Castle said. "And your mom will be with me," he said, willfully ignoring his earlier resolve to not get their hopes up. There was something in him that was telling him she was still at that home, knowing Dunn would want to remain where he was to make sure they found him. He turned his attention to Eliza, sharing a kiss with her before he set her down. "Julia," he started to say as he picked her up next.

"Daddy, please be careful," the little girl was begging him. "Mommy would want you to be."

"I know," Castle assured her, kissing her cheek before she threw her arms around him and shared a kiss with him. "And I love you, so does your mom."

Alexis hugged her father then once he'd set her sister down and she whispered to him before letting him go, watching him kiss Martha's cheek before going downstairs. She wasn't surprised when both her sisters came to her and held onto her tightly before she began to reassure them as they saw some of the FBI agents going over to the front door, all of them speaking to each other.

Throwing on his coat as he watched the men and women walking up to him, Castle saw that Shaw was one of the last to come out and he said, "I've been deputized," as she stopped in front of him.

"We know and you're under Officer Enos' care," she told him. "But we have a better idea of how Dunn was able to do everything."

"You're going to tell me now?" Castle asked, looking out the front door where the others were getting into cars by then.

"No, I'm riding along with you and Chief Davis," Shaw said before trailing off and looking back to see that the man was running up to them.

"Sorry, let's go, you can explain everything on the way," Brad said. "Enos is coming on his own but you stick with him. And that's not what I said-"

"David?" Castle said. When his friend nodded he did the same before they got into his cruiser and he said, "So how did this happen? How the hell did Dunn get out?"

"It's because of a nurse name Phyllis Alberman," Shaw started out with.

"The one that they found dead at Dunn's former hospital," Castle said as Lanie had looked at the autopsy report on the woman the day before.

"She developed an… a tendre for Dunn," Shaw continued. "Most likely he convinced her of it and managed to have her bury his name in a list of patients being transferred to the hospital in Buffalo back at the end of January; no one noticed the addition with all the paperwork going with that."

"None of our killers were there with him; they were in Buffalo already," Brad said.

"But why start all of this?" Castle replied.

"He wasn't allowed reading material but he got some somehow; likely the nurse," Shaw said in response. "She gave him an article about the two of you and your work on a case involving the mayoral election. We're guessing that from there he began to plan everything, starting with Palmer and her accomplices."

"To lure us in a false sense of them being the problem," Castle stated.

"It was why you were able to find Palmer so quickly," Shaw told the two men. "He very likely urged her to do so since you were going to your daughters' school the next day; yesterday."

"What about being able to do all of this in the first place?" Brad asked; since he hadn't heard the FBI agents when they'd been talking about the case.

"The nurse gave money to him," Shaw replied. "We're still trying to work out how exactly she could do that though, she had a trust fund but it was protected until she graduated from college."

"Then she stole from it," Castle said.

"Which means Sorenson and Wainwright will have to investigate that," Shaw said. "They've taken over the case."

"Ah, that would explain their protesting Castle coming along," Brad said. "David talked to them?"

When he saw Shaw nodding behind them, Castle said, "Really should do something for him."

Before anyone could reply to that he turned back to look out the windshield and seeing the building they were coming up to; directly on the sand in low dunes, the sign in the street in the far distance; Castle knew they were where he and Beckett had been kept. And as he stepped out of the cruiser, putting on his vest that Brad had handed to him, he knew his wife was inside, waiting for them. " _Just a little longer love_ ," he whispered under his breath before he walked down the path through the dense trees after the others. He thought of her and their daughters and with that in mind braced himself for whatever might happen as the former bed and breakfast loomed ahead.


	15. When Flesh And Steel Are One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Fragile by Sting, from his album …Nothing Like the Sun.

Looking up at the door that led into the basement, Beckett tried to keep her gaze from going over to the small room that was to her right. When she'd awoken before that moment, she'd checked out every inch of the basement to try and see what her options were. There weren't many, a few empty, collapsing wooden shelves to her left and that room to her right with an old pipe sticking out of the wall high above and a drain in the middle of it. She had guessed when she saw that the building might have belonged to a butcher, as she had heard of homes with that kind of room before. But there were no tools, nothing to help her get out and she knew she would have to wait for Dunn to come to her before she could attempt anything.

As she was thinking that she heard a few metallic scrapes above and Beckett looked to the door. The second it started to open she jumped up and stepped back against the wall, taking some comfort from the support of the bricks there as four of the six men that worked for Dunn that she had seen came down the staircase. Dunn himself was behind them and she kept her eye on him as they approached her.

"Go ahead," the killer said, nodding to one of the men who looked back to him.

Bracing herself, Beckett waited until the padlock was taken off and as soon as the door was open she was running. She attacked the man in the doorway head on and tried to knock him down to give her some time and a slight advantage. But when the man never wavered off balance she suddenly found herself behind pushed, so hard that when she hit the wall behind her she was almost gasping for air.

"Grab her," Dunn said with a slight sneer as he watched the man start to reach down to between her legs. "Grab her and hold her steady!" he shouted, making two gestures with his fingers.

Beckett; fighting against the man who she suddenly remembered had wanted to assault her the day before; didn't see the two other men entering the cell before the man attempting to grope her was pulled off of her. She was able to see him stumble slightly off balance out to the rest of the basement and watched Dunn shoot him in the head.

"Alright, hold her steady," the killer said as the other man of the three left dragged the body over to the left to discard it next to the selves.

"Sir?" the man said, coming back from the body.

"I need you holding onto her, she's going to be vicious right now," Dunn said. "All to help."

Hearing that, Beckett felt a chill go through her as she had no idea what he meant by that. But she was able to keep her senses that time and she managed to use the two men struggling to hold onto her arms to kick the third in the chest. As he fell back against the bars she tried again to pull her arms out of her captors' hold, without any luck.

"Sir, we've got the feds and police!" a voice said from the top of the stairs.

"You two go, hold them off as long as you can," Dunn said immediately, nodding to the man standing back up and the one holding onto Beckett's left arm.

"You sure you can do this on your own?" the man left asked.

"Just as long as you hold onto her," Dunn replied, putting his gun back into his holster.

As soon as she saw that Beckett started to move to go, sure she could escape from the one man without the threat of being shot. But as soon as she tried to get her arm free she was suddenly shoved back against the wall, that time hands around her throat. She reached up and tried to get them off her but was having no luck, trying to move at all with the same results. She had to wonder why he wasn't strangling her, until he moved slightly to her left and turned her head to look at the room.

"This house was recommended to me by a… friend of mine," Dunn was saying as he rolled out a pouch on top of the divider between the rest of the basement and the shower room. He made sure Beckett could see the instruments inside, largely scalpels and a saw, before telling her, "She proved helpful in so many ways, especially when she changed my name to another patient's."

Beckett then had her answer to why Dunn had been in Buffalo but she had to wonder how that could have worked. But before she could spend much time thinking on that she brought herself back to attention as the killer walked over to her.

"Go ahead," Dunn told the man holding her. He wasn't surprised when she started to fight against the hold on her and he watched as the man got her right arm out to the side on the wall. "Perfect-" he started to say when she managed to get it free.

The fist to her face nearly knocked her head back against the wall but luckily Beckett was able to recover enough to start clawing at his hand. But when he held out both her arms she saw that Dunn was approaching them, a syringe in hand. She kicked at him, managing to send it flying in the air before she had to try to fend off another punch from the man trying to hold her down. She got; what she thought; was a pretty good kick in but it wasn't enough and she was punched again in the face, that time enough to make her dazed. She tried to fight back yet again but her movements were too slow and she felt her body pushed back against the wall, her arm stretched out to the side before she saw the syringe going in through her coat sleeve. The prick was soon after and she was let go to drop unceremoniously to the floor.

Trying to stand, Beckett managed to get on her hands and knees and then up on the latter when whatever he'd given her took effect. She collapsed back to the ground and her eyes rolled into the back of her head while her last thoughts of consciousness were of her husband and their daughters as the sound of two shots rang out.

* * *

Enos placed his hand on Castle's arm, watching as the group of FBI agents, chief and a few of his fellow officers reached the edge of the foliage surrounding the front of the abode. Almost as soon as they had gotten there he flinched with the writer at the sudden gunshots from the upper story windows and watched as a few agents returned fire. He pushed Castle back and said, "We'll hold off until they say we can go in."

Nodding, Castle looked up at the windows, not seeing the covered ones of the room he and Beckett had been kept in and he guessed that it was around the corner. He wondered if she was there but something was telling him that she wasn't and instead was down in the basement. He glanced at the officer next to him but refrained from telling him what he was thinking as Enos was stepping away from him towards the house.

A shot struck one of the windows and a shooter, the man disappearing from sight and Castle could hear three more guns firing. He watched Shaw aim for another window and hit the man coming out from his cover to fire. The gunman fell and he himself reached down to his hip for the gun there as Esposito and another FBI agent were able to shoot the last men and things fell silent. He wanted to ask when they could go in but waited; impatiently; as he watched two agents run to the front door as four stayed behind, providing cover for them.

When one of the agents managed to open the door, Sorenson made a gesture and the agents covering the two made their way up, the rest of the officers and agents covering them. Enos and Castle were second to last, Brad and Sorenson covering them before they went inside.

With gestures, Sorenson ordered the three groups up the stairs or through the downstairs rooms and Castle watched as they all split up, following with Enos trailing behind him as they went over to the kitchen. When they had reached it, he stayed back out of the doorway with the officer before there was the sudden sound of gunshots upstairs. He got out of the way of the agents and he paused, ducking back while Enos disappeared down the hall to the foyer where the staircase was. He waited; half expecting the man to call to him to make him catch up with them. But when there was no call and when he didn't see the officer trying to find him he went back into the kitchen.

Pulling his wife's gun from his hip, Castle glanced around the room with the weapon in his hands, looking particularly at the walls until he paused at the point where he assumed a fridge had once stood. He felt with his hand, and found the wallpaper loose at about doorknob level. Pulling it away, he soon found the hidden knob, turning it and pushing the hidden door in as slowly as he could, braced for it to start to squeak. But it was silent and he stepped inside the basement, holding the gun aimed down as he went down the stairs.

Looking through what he could see, Castle almost thought that the room was empty besides the two dead bodies on the floor until he saw the bars and just behind them, his wife. "Kate," he whispered, trying not to alert anyone in there. He wanted to run to her but held himself back knowing she would chastise him for not taking stock of the room before he went to her. He glanced around and when he saw nothing, he went the rest of the way down and ran to Beckett, holstering his weapon as he went. "Oh god love…" he breathed as he saw the cut on the front of her throat then the rolled out pouch of tools. He felt a wave of nausea go through him as he realized that Dunn had been trying to slit her throat. His hands almost shaking he pressed his fingertips against the other side of her neck, breathing out when he felt her pulse. All of a sudden there was a resounding metallic clash and he turned to see that Dunn was locking the door of the cell.

"Hello again Moor," the killer said, smiling at him. "I thought you might be held back from joining the others but that's more than okay. I have enough tools for the both of you and I suppose I can always send them to your parents."

Castle wanted to ask what exactly he was talking about when he'd said the word them but he noticed on the staircase someone was coming down. He forced his eyes to stay on Dunn, not wanting to give them away and wondering if it was Brad or Enos that had found him. "So this has all been for your book," he commented.

"As I mentioned before," Dunn replied, frowning at the stupidity of that statement. He was about to speak when he felt something on the back of his head and heard a familiar voice speak.

"Don't move," Shaw said slowly. "Put your weapon down Dunn, it's over."

Looking at Castle; who seemed to be frozen; the killer smiled and said, "Yes of course Agent Shaw…"

Opening his mouth to call out a warning to the woman, Castle jumped up with his own gun withdrawn as Dunn leaned down until he could set his weapon on the floor. Not expecting that he started to relax a little before all of a sudden the killer was turning with his arm out, hand clenched into a fist as he struck Shaw.

Taking the agent's gun as she fell to the floor, Dunn turned back to Castle, who had his own gun aimed at him. He was still for a moment and then suddenly smiled, shaking his head. "Put it down," he instructed him.

"Not a chance," Castle said, aiming for the man's head; not caring if he'd get in trouble for killing him. "You-" he started to say before Dunn's hand moved down, aiming for Beckett. "Put your gun down!" he yelled.

"I think I have the advantage, you shoot me I'll end up firing mine," Dunn taunted him. "And you can say goodbye to her when you see her again because I will kill you Moor unless you put down your gun."

Clenching his jaw at that, Castle tried not to look directly at Shaw but he couldn't delay anymore so he took his finger off the trigger and leaned down, setting it on the ground outside the cell at Dunn's direction. Also at his direction, he slid it over to him, watching the killer pick it up as he knelt.

"I'll send her to you afterward," Dunn told Castle as soon as he was holding both guns. But before he could pull the trigger on either weapon, he felt something collide with the side of his head, hard, and he staggered before three shots rang out. Collapsing to the ground he was breathing heavily, hissing as the blood bubbled up from his punctured lungs and he managed to whisper, " _Georgiana_ …" before he suddenly stopped, his body going limp as Castle lowered his wife's gun from in front of him.

"What the hell?" Sorenson said, appearing in the doorway and seeing the bodies on the floor.

"It's clear Sorenson," Shaw called up to him. "Dunn is dead, so are all of his accomplices."

Castle winced as he watched her search the body of the killer for a key before she turned to the door. Sure that she had it he turned to Beckett and pocketed her gun from home he'd grabbed as he'd changed. He very carefully picked her up as Shaw opened the door of the cell though Sorenson and Wainwright were telling him to put her back down. "It's going to take them too long to get here," he snapped at the two men.

Watching as his ex's husband carried her over to the stairs, Sorenson heard Castle murmuring tenderly to Beckett in another language and he looked at Shaw asking, "He killed them?"

"Just Dunn," the agent replied, looking at the body and the blood trailing toward the drain as the slope of the floor leaned toward it. "He saved our lives."

As she passed him to leave, Sorenson nodded saying, "Not a monkey anymore."

Outside Castle blinked in the sunlight; the basement far more dimly lit; and he was able to see an ambulance approaching as well as Brad who strode to him down the path to the front door.

"Castle-" the chief started to say, his tone of voice angry.

"I'm not going to apologize, just don't blame Enos," he said, nodding to the officer who was standing on the sidewalk. "I made sure I got away from him."

"Sir," a paramedic said, reaching them with her partner and a stretcher. She and the other EMT got Beckett belted before they pushed her over to the ambulance at the curb.

"Brad, take my statement at the hospital!" Castle called to his friend as he ran through the melting patches of snow after his wife. He didn't bother to check if the chief agreed with that and he climbed into the back of the ambulance before pulling out his phone though his hand was itching to take his wife's. "She didn't bleed much," he said quickly as they started to move, the woman looking at Beckett's neck.

"She'll be alright with regards to that," the EMT replied. "She just needs to come to…"

Letting her do her job, Castle pressed the number for Alexis' phone, setting his to his ear and feeling the sudden relief that the adrenaline rush of the past twenty minutes hadn't let him feel as he could see his wife's chest rising and falling. She was breathing, she was alright and as he took her hand the warmth of her skin was even more reassurance before his daughter was answering on the other end.

* * *

Leaning against her grandfather, Julia shook her head when Jim offered her a mug of hot chocolate saying, "Why did Alexis leave? If it was good news she wouldn't have left," keeping her voice quiet at the same time as she didn't want to alert her little sister to what was going on; though she barely knew what was herself.

"Shh, she's just talking on the phone," Jim assured her, running his hand over the back of her head. "You're going to scare Eliza."

Frowning and feeling like she could scream and kick her legs in a tantrum at the sheer frustration going through her, Julia tried to sit still as they waited. When she heard footsteps coming towards them she perked up, seeing her big sister coming into the doorway of the family room. "Who was it?" she blurted out immediately, forgetting about Eliza.

"That was Dad," Alexis said, smiling at both her sisters. She wasn't surprised to notice that Julia looked startled seeing that and she told her, "He found your mom and she's okay, just a little under the weather so they're going to check her out at the hospital; we can meet them there."

"She's okay!" Julia cried, nearly screaming as she heard Eliza crying out. "Oh Lizzy, Daddy found her. I bet you he saved her too; again!"

"Yeah, I wanna see Mommy now," the toddler demanded, looking at her grandmother before Martha was standing up, putting her on her hip as she'd been on her lap when they'd waited.

"We're going right now," Jim said, taking Julia's hand and walking over to the hall. When he saw that the FBI agents were talking with David in the kitchen he called the man over and spoke with him quickly.

"Grandpapa-" Julia started to say impatiently as she tugged at his hand when it felt like the two were talking for far too long.

"Hold on honey," Jim replied before he finished making sure David would remain at the house until one of them had returned at least.

"Not a problem," David said. "I have a key that Rick and Kate gave me and I'll close up shop here once they're out."

"Thank you, I better get going," Jim told the man before he finally let Julia pull him to the front door where Martha and Alexis had finished bundling Eliza up and were getting themselves covered.

"Mommy's home, Mommy's home," Eliza chanted as she waited for everyone to finish.

"Not yet," Julia said. "She's gotta get home first."

"Mommy is kay?" Eliza asked her sister, searching her face.

"Yeah she is, remember what 'lexis said?" Julia replied, taking her hand as they followed the others to the garage and the car where her sister's car seat was. She buckled her seatbelt and kicked her legs as they left the house, watching the agents get into their cars before they were on the street and on their way. She closed her eyes, hoping they would be able to see her mother as soon as they got to the hospital, wanting to see her to be absolutely sure that she was completely fine.

* * *

Sitting at the side of the bed his wife had been put in; since she was still unconcious; Castle reminded himself of what the doctor who'd checked her out had told him. She was fine and the drug she'd been knocked out with was a heavier dosage so she would need more time to recover from it. He breathed out as he was thankful yet again that she hadn't been given an overdose of it and he reached over, taking her hand as he'd been doing off and on since he'd entered the room. Stroking the top of it he considered her fingers and the rest of her hand, unable to help leaning down to press a kiss to the top of it. The warmth was again reassuring but as he looked up into her face he couldn't help murmuring, "Wake up my love, I need to know you're okay."

Outside the room, Sorenson was standing just out of view of the window that was in the door, debating if he should go inside and break the scene that was in front of him. He hesitated as he could tell it was a very intimate one, when he felt someone stand next to him. "You're okay?" he asked Agent Shaw as he looked and saw it was her.

"Oh fine, not as bad as she is," Shaw said as they watched Castle lean over and kiss his wife's palm. "Were you in doubt before this?" she asked her fellow agent.

"Not anymore," Sorenson replied. "Have you given your statement?"

"It's been taken and signed and the case is closed," Shaw replied. When she saw he was looking at her questioningly she said, "There's no reason for us to stay once we talk to her."

Sorenson didn't reply to that, instead he looked behind them as he heard the voices of a group of people coming up behind them. When he saw it was Castle and Beckett's daughters and other family members he said, "They wouldn't want me to," to Shaw.

Nodding to that, Shaw went to the family and said, "Mr. Beckett, I've been waiting for a chance to speak with you alone for a moment."

"Of course, girls stay with your sister and gram," Jim told them. When they merely nodded, looking around as if they'd be able to find their mother that way, he followed the agent back towards the nurses' station before she began to fill him in on what had happened.

Opening her eyes slowly, Beckett could feel someone was stroking her hand and she blinked a few times before her gaze focused and she saw her husband was the one touching her. She smiled and murmured, "Rick."

"Love," Castle said quickly, looking up at her. "Hey, welcome back," he said, a wide smile on his face.

"Dunn?" Beckett asked, hearing her voice slowly getting stronger.

"He's dead," Castle said simply.

"How," Beckett asked, shifting a little before she stared at him expectantly.

Nodding as he knew she wouldn't let him get away with only that, Castle related what had happened once he found her and he wasn't too surprised when she suddenly grabbed at her neck when he'd finished relating the story. "You're okay; it was fairly shallow; I'm sure that Dunn was distracted by us coming in before he could do any more."

"Not that," Beckett said as she could feel the bandage that was on the very front of her neck, above the hollow of her throat. "My necklace, he took it…" she started to say before he was reaching into his coat pocket. She leaned forward slightly as he reached around to place the chain on her neck and as soon as he had pulled away she reached up to touch the aquamarine pendant, sighing in relief. "I thought he might have tossed this down the drain," she confessed to her husband.

"It was in the kitchen," Castle said. "Brad saw it and grabbed it." He then started to speak before hesitating and saying, "He deputized me before we left."

"And you had my gun from home too?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"I had to be sure, we both know how Dunn is… was," Castle said.

Breathing out, Beckett said, "There's something poetic about you killing him you know."

"Oh I know, especially since he was trying to rewrite my work with Nikki Heat and then our books," Castle said. He stood up, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her saying, "But with him gone it's just us love."

Smiling at that Beckett reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand, bringing him down to her. Their lips met and she could feel her husband hesitating a little, not surprised since she was as well. When they finally parted she sat back against the bed and asked, "Are they here?"

"I called Alexis… want me to check?" Castle said. When his wife nodded he leaned over and kissed her again but carefully that time. "I should go," he said though he wasn't moving.

"One more," Beckett said, sitting up fully before she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and they kissed passionately before they had to breathe. She watched him go then, knowing he was forcing himself as he nearly tore open the door. She felt a deep sense of relief as she leaned back yet again but also could feel her impatience as she felt the last of her weakness disappearing, wanting to be with her daughters that she hoped she would see soon.

"There he is," Julia said quickly to her sister as she saw their father coming to them. She jumped off her chair and waited for Martha to set Eliza down before taking her hand and running to him.

Not surprised when the girls were suddenly clamoring about their mother and trying to jump up into his arms at the same time, Castle quickly calmed them down and picked Eliza up. "Your mom is doing fine she wants to see you," he told them. He then looked over at his mother and father in law and said, "I'll come back to get you guys to see her."

"She wants to see me too?" Alexis asked in surprise.

"Why not?" Castle asked before he was taking Julia's hand and leading her over to Beckett's room.

Turning her head as the door was opened, Beckett smiled at the sight of her daughters who immediately ran to the side of the bed and began to talk at the same time. "Easy you two," she said, trying not to laugh as Castle and Alexis helped them up onto the bed. Once they were on it, she held her arms out to them and pulled them tightly to her saying emotionally, "I missed you both."

"Oh Mommy, we did too," Julia replied, feeling safe in her mother's embrace. "But I knew Daddy could find you and save you. I just hoped it wasn't going to take too long."

"Let me look at you two," Beckett then said as she smiled at what her oldest had said.

"Why Mommy?" Eliza asked.

Not answering that, Beckett cupped their cheeks and shared a kiss with them both saying, "You're both so beautiful."

"No, you are Mommy," Eliza said firmly.

"Then you're both so sweet and I am so happy to be able to do this," Beckett said, still smiling as she hugged them to her again.

"I'm so glad you're okay Kate," Alexis said, hugging her stepmother carefully around Julia and Eliza.

"Me too," Beckett said. "Thank you for watching the girls; I'll have to say the same to your gram and my dad."

"They're outside whenever you want me to get them," Castle said. "So are Sorenson and Shaw."

"They want to debrief?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she did so in return; having expected that; and said, "Once I'm released and on my way out. By the way, where's my doctor?"

"He said the only thing was to wait for you to wake up. So when you want to leave he just wants to do a quick check up and he'll release you," Castle told her.

"That can wait a little longer," Beckett said, smiling down at the girls who were snuggling closer to her. "I don't think they'll let me go yet."

"Never, never," Eliza said.

"But we have to go home Lizzy," Julia pointed out to her little sister in a matter of fact tone.

"What about the boys and Lanie?" Beckett said then as Castle leaned over.

Sharing a brief kiss with his wife, he pulled back and said, "They're at the house, assisting."

With a look of realization on her face, Beckett nodded and then rubbed the girls' backs saying, "Bring our parents, the sooner I get checked out the sooner we can go home."

"Will you play with us?" Eliza asked hopefully.

Smiling down at her Beckett kissed her forehead and said, "I was going to ask if you'd play with me."

"You're not feeling weak?" Alexis asked.

"Oh no, I'm doing pretty well," Beckett replied.

"Yeah, Mommy's hug is like it always is," Julia said.

"Then I know you're okay," Alexis said as she smiled at Beckett kissing the top of the little girl's head. "I'll go get Gram and Jim, Dad," she said, putting her hand on his arm to stop him from turning.

"Your father was worried," Castle said once Alexis had left.

"A lot but he was being brave for us," Julia added.

"Yeah, 'cause we were too," Eliza replied.

"I'm so sorry girls," Beckett then said, stroking Eliza's hair and pressing a kiss into the dark brown locks. "But-"

"You had to find Daddy," Julia said quickly, seeing her little sister nodding in agreement on the other side of their mother. "And you did and then Daddy found you." She beamed up at him and said, "I knew you were gonna do it, not the people in suits."

"I was lucky I could go," Castle said simply. He was going to change the subject then but his mother and Beckett's father came into the room with Alexis and they managed to do it for him.

"Oh darling, you're looking the picture of health," Martha said, going first to the bed to hug her daughter in law around Julia and Eliza who were giggling. "You're okay."

"I'm fine, I just needed to wake up after I was given… whatever I was given," Beckett said. "Dad I'm okay," she said as he came over to her next. She reached up and hugged him tightly as the girls got out of the way, feeling his relief in his embrace.

"I can tell," Jim said with a slight smile as his granddaughters immediately wrapped their arms around Beckett once she was sitting back a little. "Do you need to stay?"

"You want me to go home?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when her father nodded, knowing he didn't like seeing her in a hospital gown and bed, and she looked at her husband.

"I'll get him while they're leaving," Castle promised her.

"Which we'll do now," Alexis said. "Come on you two, we should go so your mom can get dressed and come home with us."

Beckett half expected the two to put up a struggle but after assuring them both that she had meant her promise to play with them she watched Eliza and Julia go with her father, Castle's mother and Alexis. When they were alone she pulled on her husband's hand that she'd grabbed to keep him with her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, taking his kiss that he had known she wanted without any words spoken.

Castle wasn't sure how long he stood next to the bed, slightly bent and taking his wife's lips with a hunger he was sure he shouldn't be using. But finally he pulled away and murmured to her, "We should probably wait until we get home."

"And after we play with the girls," Beckett reminded him. She had expected him to groan at the reminder but when he merely nodded his head she was surprised until he murmured he would get the doctor and left. She could see again that he was repressing and she fell back on the bed, breathing out once in a huff as she was doing the same yet again.

After seeing the doctor into his wife's room Castle stood at the door inside, watching the man check out her motor functions and had her walk in a straight line. He smiled a little at the look she tossed to him before the man said that she could go. "Lanie stopped by while we were all in here," he said, holding up a bag. "She brought your clothes."

"So they're done?" Beckett asked.

"There wasn't all that much to do there," Castle said as he went with her to the bathroom, standing in the doorway as he watched her take off the hospital gown. "I know four of the men were shot upstairs while we were trying to get in. And then the rest were downstairs."

"Dunn shot one of them while I was still conscious," Beckett said, pulling on her blouse last and buttoning it. "He was trying to molest me and since that wasn't part of his plan…"

"He wasn't able to was he?" Castle asked in concern as she turned to him.

"No," Beckett said reassuringly. "I think Dunn was doing that to see if it worked in his story. In the basement he was virtually all business. Now get the wheelchair so we can talk to Sorenson and Shaw and then get out of here."

With a nod Castle did so, pushing his wife out to the nurses' station where she signed a paper and he then went to their family. "We'll meet you back home," he told them. "Brad is going to give us a ride back," he said as he read the text the chief had sent them.

"Beckett," Shaw said, coming over to the two once they were alone.

"Agent Shaw, it's been a long time," Beckett said, shaking her hand. "Thank you for your assistance."

"I was glad to help since of course in the end we finished things up with Dunn," Shaw said with a nod as she and then Sorenson sat down across from where Castle was sitting. "I'm not sure if your husband told you everything so would you like to hear from the start."

"From the start," Beckett replied. She paid close attention to everything the two agents related, not surprised to learn that Palmer had been so good with the awl as she had once worked with leather before her breakdown. "So no one really bothered to second check the fact that going into the hospital Dunn was suddenly Doyle," she said when they reached that point.

"Obviously the hospital's being investigated but considering that Dunn went in with that name on his clothes no one saw a need to double check it," Sorenson replied, watching as Beckett took her husband's hand, lacing their fingers together. He then told her about why Dunn had gone after her and said, "From what Shaw has told me, my partner and I are certain that he was trying to get you to solve one last case."

"The weird part about that is that as far as cases go, it was reasonably easy," Castle replied.

"A mercy before…" Shaw started to say.

"What about the six men?" Beckett asked.

"They're ghosts, we haven't been able to find any kind of information on them but they have special ops experience," Sorenson answered. "We're not sure what country they might be from though."

"They didn't have accents," Castle said. "But I get the feeling Dunn might have looked for that specifically."

"More than likely and the bed and breakfast he stumbled on in the library of the hospital he was previously in," Shaw replied. "He was using the computers there and the nurse that works there remembers him looking at maps."

"So he was already casing out where to do this. I believe his accomplice, the nurse, helped him in looking at the building," Beckett said. "I wonder if he might have looked into the history of our daughters' school; to find that tunnel."

"We'll look into it," Sorenson said. "But your involvement is of course no longer necessary, Chief Davis will have some paperwork you need to sign and he said he'd take your statement unless you'd like to tell us now."

"No I'll tell you now, get it over with," Beckett told them before she started to relate what had happened to her.

"I'm glad to see you're alright, especially for your husband and daughters' sake," Sorenson said when she'd finished, having recorded what she'd said.

Studying him, Beckett could tell in her ex's tone that he meant it, and said, "Are you still agents at this point?"

"Agent Shaw do you think I could talk to you for a second?" Castle asked as he could tell what his wife wanted to do with her tone.

When they were left alone Sorenson quickly said, "He does love you, and you seem happy. A lot happier than when we were together."

Beckett nodded once at that and said, "Things…" She trailed off and then looked a little thoughtful before continuing with, "We weren't right for each other Will, but I don't regret the relationship."

"Neither do I," Sorenson replied. "Is this the point where you tell me to try and find someone else?"

"Someone who would be better for you," Beckett urged him. "And be able to love you."

"He helped you solve your mother's case," Sorenson then said, glancing at Castle and Shaw who were talking quietly at the windows.

"That's not the reason I love him," Beckett said, knowing that was what he thought. "There's a lot to our relationship that I don't have time to tell you but we're close, we're… we're close."

Sorenson looked down at Beckett's hand that she held out to him and took it saying, "Goodbye Kate, take care of yourself."

"You too Will, goodbye," Beckett replied before he left, going over to Shaw and speaking to her quickly before heading to the elevators. "You too?" she asked in amusement as the woman sat next to her.

"I just wanted to mention that I was right," Shaw said before smiling.

Shaking her head; though she was smiling too; Beckett replied, "You were, it just took a while for everything to come together."

"You mean you two," Shaw corrected. "And I also wanted to say you have adorable daughters, very sweet."

"How's yours?" Beckett asked quickly.

"She's growing up," Shaw replied. "But she's a wonderful young woman." She shook Beckett's hand firmly and said, "Take care of yourself Beckett."

"You too Agent Shaw," Beckett said before she watched her walk to the elevators. When she felt her husband next to her, she smiled up at him and said, "So that was a blast from the past."

"A double actually," Castle told her. He leaned down and shared a brief kiss with her before saying, "Home?"

"Please," Beckett said before he was pushing her to the elevators. Down at the curb she smiled when she saw Brad's cruiser there and said, "I didn't expect this."

"Well I figured it'd comfort your daughters to know you were protected," Brad said as she got out of the wheelchair. He hugged her for a moment and said, "Glad to see you're alright Kate."

"Thanks for protecting my husband," Beckett said. When the chief looked confused at that she smiled and told him, "The gun and vest."

"Not a problem, I could hear you yelling at me in my head to make sure I did," Brad said before Castle was opening the passenger door. "Good?" he asked his friend once Beckett was inside and the door was closed.

"She's fine," Castle said with a nod before he went to sit in the back. On the drive home he had to wonder why it was that it felt like the beach house was ridiculously far away when it never had been. But soon enough Brad was heading down the driveway; where there was only one other car; and he saw the boys and Lanie on the porch. "Hope you're ready," he told his wife teasingly as Brad stopped.

Beckett shook her head at him and got out, not surprised to find herself engulfed in her friend's embrace immediately. She hugged her back quickly and said, "I'm alright Lanie," as reassuringly as she could.

"I think your girls had me worried," the doctor replied. "But I am glad to see you back."

Beckett thanked her before she went to Ryan and Esposito, hugging them both quickly before she asked about what they'd discovered at the house.

Hesitating for a moment, Ryan was the first to speak saying, "Dunn shot the men in the basement and we found a notebook in the kitchen, in an empty drawer."

"He had a drawing of a body in there with incision marks on it," Esposito said.

"We think he likely wanted to…" Lanie started to say.

"That would explain what the hell he was talking about," Castle said. When the others; including Brad; looked at him, he told them, "Dunn told me he'd have to send them to our parents. I'm pretty sure hearing about that drawing he was going to cut us into pieces and send them to our parents."

"Luckily he didn't get the chance," Brad said. "And of course the case is wrapped up."

"Do you guys need to go back?" Beckett said as she took the chief's subtle change of subject.

"Gates called us, said she couldn't have us out as everyone else has a case now," Esposito said.

"Gates knows you're here?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time before sharing a look.

"Funny that didn't ease up," Ryan said. "And yeah, she knew before we left that you'd called us Beckett. She actually gave us permission to go."

"Not sure how to take that," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"Neither do I," Beckett said, shrugging her shoulders. "But too bad you couldn't stay longer."

"Aren't you coming to the city next week?" Ryan asked.

"We'll see you then but still the girls would have loved you to stick around for dinner at least," Castle said.

"At the loft," Lanie told him. "We said goodbye to them already so I guess we just need to say it to you."

"Thank you for your help; before we start saying goodbye," Brad said quickly, going over to them and shaking the hands of all three. "You were vital once we found out it was Dunn."

"Glad to assist," Esposito said with a nod.

"Rick, Kate, I'll be heading back to the station, these papers…" Brad said as he handed them to Beckett with a pen.

Quickly signing them and then handing them over to her husband, Beckett told the chief, "Tell Lily we want to have dinner when we come back from Spring Break."

"She was talking about the same thing," Brad said with a nod. "We'll be in touch." He took the papers and calling a goodbye he hurried back to his cruiser, soon driving back to the station.

"We'll do something the day Rick spends with the girls," Beckett told Lanie was she hugged her tightly again.

"Of course, the spa would be nice," Lanie replied.

Smiling at that, Beckett turned to the boys and said, "You're welcome to join us."

"I'll pass," Ryan said. "But if you have a dinner I'll bring Jenny and Tommy."

"Thank them for letting you come out here," Castle said as he was hugging Lanie before shaking Ryan's and Esposito's hands. "Safe drive back guys."

Beckett echoed that as they stood on the porch, looking on as the three got into the car and were soon out of sight on the street. Sighing she said, "And like that all this is done."

"Great, I'm glad," Castle said, not surprised when his wife nodded in agreement. "Come on, we have a play date to attend."

Smiling at that, Beckett let Castle take her hand before they went inside, seeing their daughters standing at the doorway between the entry and the hall, whispering together. "What're you two doing?" she asked with a smile as they hadn't seemed to notice them coming inside.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Julia cried out in joy, her sister echoing her as they ran together to the two.

"Easy," Castle said, laughing as he looked up to see their parents and Alexis coming down the hall to join them. Eliza and Julia were both trying to jump up against him and Beckett, so they were quick to pick them up before they slipped on the ground. "You're still happy to see us it looks like."

"Yeah, 'cause we play now," Eliza said seriously. She then giggled and squealed, "You say Jules!"

"Put me down Daddy," Julia told him. As soon as she was back on the ground she hurried to her mother and took her hand saying, "This way Mommy," before she led her down the hall to the kitchen.

When she saw the island, Beckett wasn't too surprised to see the vase of flowers and she looked back at her husband saying, "When?"

"When I went out to get the doctor," Castle replied. "Helped that it's almost spring."

Touching one of the daffodils in the bouquet, Beckett turned to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before murmuring a thank you for the yellow flowers and snowdrops. When she let him go she went to their daughters and knelt, kissing them both before Julia spoke.

"Why are you thanking us?" the little girl asked.

"Because you helped," Beckett said before looking up at her father and Martha.

"They picked it out," Martha answered with a smile. "They were very insistent about it."

"I might have said they could choose," Castle replied as he glanced at Eliza and Julia and saw that they looked a little anxious. "So, I guess we're going to play?"

"Grandpapa said you should eat something Mommy," Julia then said hesitantly. "Are you hungry?"

"I think we all are," Alexis said. "We haven't eaten anything."

"Then let me order lunch," Castle said. "And we'll do something special." He wasn't surprised when the girls immediately ran to him, grabbing onto his hands and begging him to say what that special thing was. "You'll find out," he told them seriously. "For now take your mom to the family room and the three of you decide what we're going to play."

"All day?" Eliza asked.

"For now until we eat," Beckett answered before Castle could.

"What your mom said," he said with a nod, smiling slightly. He watched them go before he went to one of the drawers in the kitchen.

"What's going to be so special about lunch?" Alexis asked him, joining him. "Or do I have to wait to find out too?" she asked as she saw the take out menu that he was holding.

"You too," Castle said quickly before he began to dial a number on his phone.

Inside the family room Beckett sat on the couch and watched the girls go to the cabinet with their games. By the way they were discussing them she had a feeling it was going to take them a little long to decide on which to play first. "Julia, Eliza," she called to them then. "Come here."

Sharing a look with her sister, Julia took her hand and they hurried to their mother before she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I am, you don't have to keep asking that," Beckett said as she picked Eliza up to put her on her lap and then wrapped her arm around Julia. "How are you doing sweetie?" she directed to her youngest first.

"Kay," Eliza said simply, looking into her mother's eyes before leaning against her.

"Did you sleep alright last night?" Beckett then asked, looking at both her daughters. When they didn't answer right away she sighed and said, "You had nightmares?"

"Mine was scary," Eliza confessed. "I wanted you Mommy, to make them go."

"Who?" Beckett asked, pressing her lips to her forehead.

"The bad men," Eliza replied. "They had guns."

"Oh Eliza, I'm so sorry," Beckett sighed. "But your daddy was here and I hope you were okay after he went to you."

"Yeah, he ran 'cause Lizzy was crying really loud," Julia said quickly. "And then he stayed with us the whole night."

"What about your nightmare? Would it make you feel better if you told me too?" Beckett asked her. She wasn't surprised when Julia hesitated slightly and she pulled her slightly closer saying, "You don't need to."

"No, I told Daddy I should tell you too," Julia said very firmly. She then related the nightmare to her mother and said, "It was bad, I wanted to help you… Why can't I?"

"You are small too," Eliza said before their mother could reply.

Looking at the toddler at the same time as Julia, Beckett laughed softly and said, "She's right but in the sense that you're still pretty young sweetie. It means a lot to me that you wanted to find me."

"Me too," Eliza said. "But Daddy has to do it."

"He doesn't have to," Beckett corrected her, knowing hers and Castle's daughters saw that as part of their job. "But it's nice when he does it."

"Because it means he loves you?" Julia asked.

"That's a pretty big chunk of it," Castle said, coming into the room then. "So lunch is on its way as soon as they make it, did we decide on what we're going to do first?"

"What about the others?" Beckett asked, looking at the doorway in surprise as she set Eliza down.

"They're going to rest; they want us to play alone with them for a little," Castle replied as he reached down to take her hand, entwining their fingers as they watched the girls looking through their games again.

"Nice of them," Beckett murmured, thinking of her father. She then turned her attention to Eliza who was walking to them with a box in her arms. "So you finally decided," she said, as the toddler was hiding the top of the game by holding it tilted against her.

"Wait, I picked another one just in case," Julia said as she rushed over to them. She was hiding her choice as well, and she said, "Ready?" to her little sister.

Nodding, Eliza waited until her sister counted down to three and then dropped the box on the coffee table, giggling when their parents jumped slightly in surprise at that. "Like them?" she asked eagerly.

"No surprise here," Castle said, seeing they'd chosen Candyland and Life.

"Do you think we can play both?" Julia asked her mother hopefully.

"I think so," Castle answered before his wife could. "Well, we can try," he said defensively at her glance. He then looked to Julia, a little startled to see that she was looking at her mother intently and he said, "Okay?" worried she might be concerned still about her since Beckett had a bruise on her cheek from that morning.

"Yeah, let me get something really quick," Julia said before she ran out.

"Easy in the hall," Beckett said. She then realized something and said, "Where's Macca?"

"That's right," Castle said, realizing he hadn't seen the dog since that morning before he'd left. "He's likely in the garage," he said before standing up and leaving.

"I wonder why he didn't come in," Beckett said to her youngest.

"I think the door closed," Eliza said seriously. "And Macca got stuck."

"That would explain it," Beckett said. She smiled as Eliza gave a little nod of her head and reached over the table, taking her hand. "Come here sweetie," she told her as the toddler looked up at her in surprise. She brought her around and once she was close she kissed her on the cheek before putting her on her lap again.

When she came back into the family room, Julia smiled at the scene of her mother cuddling her little sister tightly to her. She walked over to them and when they looked at her said softly, "I thought you should have this," holding out a snowdrop.

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, reaching over and pulling her to her. She kissed her cheek before leaning back and saying, "Do you want me to put this in my hair?"

"Yeah, I thought it would make you happy and remind you of Daddy," Julia said, sounding a little shy.

Beckett couldn't help smile at that and she hugged her oldest the best she could with one arm before kissing her temple. "That's a very nice idea and I'll wear it," she told her.

"And Daddy?" Eliza asked, having been listening closely to them as they'd spoken.

"It'll remind me of him of course but I don't need much to do that," Beckett said, looking at them both.

Smiling widely, Julia said happily, "We do?"

Before Beckett could answer that Macca rushed into the room and would have jumped onto the couch if Julia hadn't stopped him. Leaning over while holding Eliza in place she started to pet the Wolfhound when he started to lick at both their faces.

Standing at the end of the couch, Castle smiled at the scene as Julia tried to pull Macca away before he started to lick at her too. He went over and carefully grabbed the dog's collar, pulling him back down to the floor. "I think he's happy to see you," he told his wife.

"All of us Daddy," Eliza said quickly.

"I think she's right," Julia said with a smile as she watched the dog jumping up against her father.

"Calm down Macca," Castle said, patting the dog's head. He took him to the end of the coffee table and commanded him to sit before the dog did so. Sitting down himself back next to Beckett before he kissed her temple and then Eliza's he spotted the snowdrops in his wife's hand. "What's that for?" he asked, nodding to them.

"For Mommy," Eliza replied.

"To put in her hair," Julia finished for her sister, watching as her mother did that then by tucking the stem behind her ear. She smiled and said to her father, "How does she look?"

" _Stunning_ ," Castle said, holding his wife's gaze with his eyes.

"They're just flowers," Beckett protested.

"Still," Castle said, leaning over and taking her lips. Since their daughters were with them he kept it brief but when he pulled away from her he moved to her ear. Whispering quickly, he then sat up straight and saw her smile that made him do so back at her before she reached over and cupped his cheek for a moment.

When she turned with her husband to look at their daughters, Beckett wasn't too surprised they looked very happy. She kissed Eliza's cheek and said, "So are you two ready to play now?"

"Yeah, I wanna play in the candy," the toddler said eagerly.

"Then let's get started," Castle said in amusement as Julia tried to pick her sister up off her mother's lap.

"Hold on," Beckett told her before she set Eliza down, not surprised when the two hurried around to the other side of the table to sit on their knees on pillows that she and Castle handed over to them. As they began the game she watched the girls playing eagerly and she couldn't help but lean against her husband, squeezing his arm to convey to him her contentment in being home after all they'd been through. When he took her hand and squeezed it back she smiled at him as it was a joy to know that he felt the same with that simple gesture.

* * *

"Girls," Martha said in amusement as Julia and Eliza ran into the family room later in the afternoon. "You shouldn't run."

"Daddy's doing it," Julia giggled heavily as he appeared in the doorway. "You can't get us, we're home!"

"Go find Mommy!" Eliza exclaimed then.

"Right away," Castle said before he turned and went over to the office. "Oh come on Kate, you're not even trying," he said when he saw she was leaning against a bookcase. "Defeats the purpose of the game."

"I don't know, the girls had fun," Beckett said, staying in place as he walked up to her. "And I had a lot of fun hearing you chasing them around."

"It was great," Castle said, moving to put his hand on the books to her left. "But it would have been a lot more fun with you joining in." A look of realization then went across his face and he said, "You wanted to lure me in didn't you?"

"One, quickly, before we go get dinner," Beckett whispered, putting her fingertips underneath his chin and gently pulling him with her touch to lean in towards her. As soon as his lips had met her own she was parting them, drawing his tongue into her mouth before he could begin to try doing that himself. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck as she tilted her head at the same time he was doing so in the other direction and let herself become a little lost in the feel of his kiss, his arms around her holding her close by the small of her back.

"Mommy, Daddy, Gram says it's time-" Julia started to say as she came into the doorway of the office. She stopped abruptly when she saw that they were kissing deeply and giggled when they broke off from each other to turn to her. "Sorry but she says it's time to go get the pizzas 'cause they're ready by now."

"They are," Castle said, reluctantly letting go of his wife to check the time. "Sure you don't want me to just go and get them?" When Beckett merely leveled a look at him, he said, "Then we should probably get ready to go."

"Probably," she said before she brushed her lips against his. Beckett walked over to Julia and took her hand before Eliza was running up to them. "We're going out now for the pizzas," she told the toddler. "So you're going to stay here and take care of the house for us right?"

Giggling, Eliza shook her head and said, "Nooo, I wanna go too."

"Then I guess you should stay," Castle said, directing that to Julia.

"I know that's a joke," the little girl said, pouting playfully at him. "Besides, Macca wants us all to go."

"You better hurry," Alexis said. "The pizzas are going to be cold before we eat."

"'lexis come too," Eliza said, running over to her then. She grabbed onto her hand and swung it saying, "Come to walk and get pizza!"

Since her father, stepmother and other sister urged her to join them, Alexis did so after they had gotten outer layers on and Macca ready to go. She walked the dog for her sisters though they'd wanted to do that, calling back to her father and Beckett that they'd wait for them at the pizza parlor as the Wolfhound was pulling her ahead with her sisters jogging after her.

Taking his wife's hand, Castle smiled and said, "They're going to sleep really well tonight."

"I hope so," Beckett said. When she saw her husband was looking at her she told him, "I talked with them about their nightmares."

"Yeah, I expected that," Castle said with a slight frown. "But let's hope tonight they won't go through that again."

"I was hoping we'd avoid anything like this when we moved here," Beckett confessed, watching the three in front of them. "But it still ended up reaching us."

Castle gently squeezed her hand as there was nothing he could say in reply to that and he agreed with her. They remained quiet until they reached the parlor where the three girls were waiting as Macca sat with them, placidly panting. He led Julia and Eliza inside while Beckett stayed behind with Alexis and let them pay the cashier before he took the boxes and turned to leave. "Oh, easy sweetheart," he told the toddler who had stopped directly in front of him. "I almost ran into you."

"Can I carry?" Eliza asked, looking up at him pleadingly.

"They're a little heavy for you but tell your mom how you paid for dinner, she'll love hearing that," Castle urged her before he opened the door for them to go out. He watched as the girls both talked with their mother about paying and also the walk to the parlor. Since Beckett was walking Macca that time he went with Alexis behind them and said, "How long are you able to stay?"

"Jim and Gram are heading back on Sunday, so I'll go with them," she told him. "Why, you want me to go already?" she asked as she looped her arm through his.

"I'm just wondering if we have time to do something fun together," Castle said.

"Just us?" Alexis said in slight surprise.

"Is it insulting if I say I'd like to include the girls and Kate? And your gram and Jim too if they'd like to join us of course," Castle said.

"No, after what went on the past couple of days I don't blame you," Alexis replied. "And I want to spend time with them too; as much as possible."

Putting his arm around his daughter, Castle squeezed her shoulder before they reached the end of the driveway. When they went inside he said to Beckett who had let Alexis take Macca to feed him dinner, "Should we have another picnic?"

"No, a regular dinner will be fine," Beckett told him as they walked together to the kitchen. "I heard what you said to Alexis."

"Oh yeah… wind must have been blowing in the right direction," Castle said with a nod. "Do you not want to do that?" he asked.

"I'd like to spend a little time alone with them tomorrow," Beckett said. When he nodded again, she added, "They asked if you'd have a tea party with them."

"Not you?" Castle said in surprise as he got some plates from the cupboard and they started to set the table together at the breakfast nook.

"They want to have it with you," Beckett said. "Since they had one with me by myself last time."

"Then I'll have to attend," Castle said with a nod. "But what will you do?"

"I'll find something I'm sure," Beckett assured him. She heard someone approaching and she looked over to see it was her father. "Dinner's ready Dad," she told him. "And the girls-"

"Martha and Alexis are helping them wash up," Jim said as there was a squeal down the hall.

After the others had joined them, the family sat down at the table and passed the pizzas around before they started to talk. Julia had heard what her father had spoken with Alexis about so she quickly started to suggest things they could do; but as a family. The subject took them through dinner; which she had been hoping for; but she was surprised when they went to the family room.

"I wish we had enough time to do all of that," she said to her mother as Castle and Alexis were setting up the Life game they hadn't had a chance to play earlier.

"Well don't forget, we're heading into the city on Sunday," Beckett reminded her.

"I completely forgot about that," Alexis replied, looking over at them. She smiled when Eliza suddenly hugged her around the neck and said, "I guess she's looking forward to it."

"We told you before we all were," Castle commented. "And we weren't kidding either."

"Are we still going to all those museums?" Julia asked interestedly.

"As many as we can fit into the week," Castle replied. "And we have two shows to go to… your sister's first."

"I hope you're excited for that," Martha said with a smile as Eliza nodded her head rapidly before she was able to finish speaking. "I am as well, it will be wonderful to see the look on your face; like your sisters'; the very first time the curtain parts and you see the world of the show."

Looking at Eliza, Castle couldn't help chuckle at the complete awe on her face and said, "I think you sold her to attending the theater Mother; if not performing in it."

"Wonderful, what I was aiming for," Martha said as she held her arms out to the toddler.

"Who is she playing with?" Alexis asked her father as they watched the two hugging.

"With Gram," Eliza replied. She let her pick her up and place her on her lap before they turned their attention to the game with the others. She moved the car as her grandmother helped her count out the squares, giggling at the sayings on the positive squares or making a disappointed sound when they lost a turn or needed to pay.

"You know, I'm a little concerned about the amount of kids you're putting into that car," Castle was saying to his daughter as they were around the middle of the game.

"That's not me, that's the game," Alexis replied simply. "And what about you Dad?"

"Yeah, we might have to discuss that," Beckett teased him as his car was full of pink pegs except for one; which was supposed to be him.

"No need, just the game," Castle replied. "So I understand," he said to Julia and Eliza. "That I've been invited to a tea party tomorrow."

"Funny, I was invited to lunch, well Alexis and I were," Martha said. "By the Smiths."

"And an old friend of mine moved out here about three months ago," Jim said. "He called me after seeing a story about you two in the paper and when he heard about what happened earlier today on the news he called me and invited me to lunch as well."

"Are you going to stay out all day?" Julia asked.

"No, we'll return but until then we're hoping you'll keep your parents entertained," Martha replied.

"We will," Eliza answered quickly. "We can play all day."

Beckett smiled at her husband at their youngest's eager tone and she leaned against him before they turned their attention back to the game. When in the end Julia won, she stood up and said, "Come on you two, time for a bath." She was a little startled when the two immediately went over to her and she looked at Castle with slightly wide eyes.

"We missed you," Julia said simply as she and then Eliza wrapped their arms around her neck.

"So did I," Beckett said, breathing out as she spoke as she had suddenly become choked up with emotion. She hugged the girls to her and shared kisses with them before saying, "Can your daddy help me?" At their eager nods she smiled and turned to her husband before he picked up Julia to her squeal of joy. She then took Eliza and said to the others, "We'll be back down to let them-"

"We'll come up," Jim replied. "I don't know about them but I'm feeling tired tonight so I might turn in early."

"Good! So you rest for lunch!" Eliza called over her mother's shoulder. She giggled as she could hear them laughing softly in the room and she pressed her cheek to her mother's saying, "Happy Mommy?"

"Hmm very sweetie, now I'm home," Beckett said as she went up the stairs to where Castle and Julia were waiting for them.

"Now it's home," the little girl said. "'Cause we're all here."

"Very true," Castle said, running his hand over her hair. He took her and her sister into Eliza's room while Beckett went to get Julia's things and got the bath started while Julia helped her little sister with her sweater.

"Mommy," Eliza said when Beckett was there in the room with them and helped her undress.

"Yes Eliza," Beckett replied as she picked her up then to put her into the tub.

"Do I still have a birthday?" Eliza asked.

"Why would you say that?" Beckett asked as Julia paused in sitting down in the water and Castle paused kneeling next to her.

"'Cause we were scared?" Eliza said, sounding a little confused.

"That has nothing to do with our birthdays," Castle replied. "That's still going to happen and we're going to have an awesome one too."

"Even me?" Julia asked with a giggle as her mother started to wash her hair.

"Even you," Beckett replied, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose to her smile.

"I still feel bad love," Castle told his wife then.

"For what?" Beckett asked a little absently as she helped Julia rub her shampoo through her chestnut locks.

"You all alone in November," Castle replied.

"Again with my being alone," Beckett said in mock annoyance as the girls giggled together at her tone; knowing she wasn't angry. "I'm not and you know most family members are spread apart, we just got lucky with the three of you."

"Easier to celebrate three at once?" Castle asked. When she nodded he couldn't help it and leaned over, pressing his lips to the side of her head. When she turned to him he kissed her quickly before they were turning their attention back to their daughters.

"Can we play today?" Julia asked as soon as she and her sister were clean.

"Go ahead, we'll let you know when you need to get out," Beckett said as she handed Eliza their tub of bath crayons. She went to her husband then and sat on his lap, wrapping her arm around his neck as they looked on at the two soon drawing over the wall. It was a hodgepodge of stick figures and shapes but neither seemed to care as they were smiling and laughing together and she was relieved to see their delight. Finally though she had to stand up and she kissed Castle's cheek before they went to get the girls out of the tub and got them ready for bed.

"Go say goodnight to everyone," Castle said when they stepped out into the bedroom and saw the others were there.

Hurrying with her sister to their grandfather first, Julia hugged him and said, "I'm glad you're staying Grandpapa."

"Me too," Eliza said quickly.

"So am I," Jim said, leading them over to the bed where he sat on the edge. He hugged them to him tightly and kissed them both saying, "I love you Julia, Eliza and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Will you play too? After?" Eliza asked after she and her sister had shared a kiss with him, telling him they loved him.

"After your lunch," Julia hurriedly translated.

"Of course," Jim said simply. He hugged them again and then moved so Martha could sit where he'd been, not surprised when she took the girls in her arms.

"And I love you both too," Martha was saying to them. "Now you can sleep well, your mother and father are both here."

"We will," Julia said. "Love you Gram."

"Love you," Eliza said, sharing a kiss with her first before Julia did. When Alexis came to them she tried to jump up on her lap, giggling when her sister had to pick her up. She hugged her around the neck tightly saying, "Love you too 'lexis."

"I love you both," Alexis replied, kissing her before giving Julia a one armed hug and a kiss.

Leaning over, Eliza hugged Julia and said, "Love you Jules."

"Love you Lizzy," the little girl replied with a smile. "If you have a nightmare come and get me okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said, smiling gratefully at her before she was suddenly picked up. She let out a short squeal before she wrapped her arms around her father's neck and said, "I love you Daddy."

"I love you so much sweetheart," Castle said. He shared a kiss with her and before he set her in her bed gave her a quick hug. "Sweet dreams," he said as he pulled the covers over her legs.

When Beckett sat down on the edge of the bed she wasn't surprised when Eliza threw her arms around her and she hugged the toddler tightly before murmuring, "I love you Eliza, so much."

"I love you Mommy, lots," Eliza replied. She shared a kiss with her before kissing her mother's cheek and laying down at her direction. She wriggled a little in delight at being tucked in by her mother after missing it the night before. She held her stuffed horse tightly to her as she watched the others leave and before her parents and sister were at the doorway she was asleep.

"I think we're going to tuck you in sweetie," Beckett said after they'd said goodnight to the others and were walking to her room.

Since she was yawning, Julia couldn't protest that and she also knew her mother was right; she was tired after the night before. "Tomorrow I'll say no," she said as she climbed up on her bed. Standing on it she hugged Castle tightly when he came over to her and said, "Love you Daddy, thank you for saving Mommy."

"I had to sweetheart," Castle replied. "And I love you too." He then helped her down on the bed, covering her legs as she helped.

"Oh Mommy, I'm so happy," Julia said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Beckett's neck. "I love you so much."

"Believe me, I love you as much," Beckett told her seriously. She then smiled and looking into Julia's eyes said, "Maybe more."

"I don't think so," Julia replied seriously before a smile broke out on her face. She exchanged another embrace with her mother before they shared a kiss and she lay down. She sighed softly in her joy at her mother tucking her in and she held her Stitch doll to her tightly as she watched her parents go to the door.

To her surprise, Julia was soon asleep and Beckett turned off the lights before Castle slightly closed the door. She took her husband's hand once they were in the hall and when they were nearer their room she murmured to him, "I think I want to take a shower."

"Sure," Castle told her. "I'll wait for you."

Nodding as he understood her need to wash away what had happened as a more symbolic thing, Beckett kissed him on the lips before she went to get her pajamas and then disappeared into the bathroom. Turning, she saw her husband was starting to unbutton his shirt and she shared a smile with him before the door closed.

After changing Castle turned on the fire, the room feeling a little cold, and he looked around, amazed at the difference a full day had made when he'd avoided the room. He was quick to turn down the covers before going to the windows, watching the waves break on the shore before he heard the bathroom door opening again.

"Okay?" Beckett asked, going over to him when she saw what he doing.

"Yeah, you know, you told me where you were," Castle said, turning to her.

"I did?" Beckett said, looking a little surprised and confused at the same time.

"I spent a good part of last night telling Julia and then Eliza stories about us," Castle said. When his wife looked at him questioningly he shrugged telling her, "They wanted to know, I think it comforted them to hear about us together. But by the time I went to sleep I was basically reliving most of the bigger moments of our relationship."

"The wedding?" Beckett asked.

"The wedding, our first kiss, our first time together… our first full day at home with Eliza," Castle said as he was nodding his head. "And then I dreamt of you and I here in the room, you brought me to the windows and the sand was in dunes. And that's when I saw the sign and remembered what you'd said about Ashmore Dunes and that's when I woke up."

"I'm glad I could help," Beckett said with a slight smile, hugging him from behind as he'd told her about his temporary memory loss before. "And that you found me."

"Not as much as me Kate," Castle said, taking her hand and pulling her around in front of him.

Beckett took his kiss, already having expected it, and as she wrapped her arms around him tightly she leaned her body into his. She couldn't help remember the night before and how cold she'd been in the basement. But feeling the warmth of Castle's body she felt more reassured that it was not a dream and when they parted to breathe she whispered to him, "Make love to me Rick."

Looking down into her eyes, Castle studied her closely and he was able to readily discern that she was serious. There was a part of him that wanted to ask if she was sure but by her tone and the way she was up close against him he knew that would have been pointless to say. So he carefully pulled away and leaned down so he could pick her up, struck again by the contrast from doing that earlier when she'd been unconcious. As her arms wrapped around his neck he took her to the bed, laying her down in the middle as she pulled him with her.

Luckily he stayed with her, getting on top of her once she was settled, and Beckett instigated their kiss, making it as deep as she could as she brushed her tongue against his lower lip. When he responded she put everything she had into that kiss until they needed to breathe which they were soon doing, panting a little heavily as they looked at each other. "Love…" she said softly, cupping his cheek with her hand.

Grabbing it, Castle turned his head and pressed his lips all over her palm until he helped her sit up, pulling off her grey top. As she lay down and once he had discarded the shirt he went to her, kissing her deeply. But it was a little less harried as he wanted to take things easier that night, feeling like she deserved that after all she'd been through. But he paid attention to what she had asked him for and he was soon moving down to her neck. When he felt Beckett tilt her head back, he groaned slightly at the feel of her racing pulse underneath her skin and he lightly nibbled at her until he forced himself to move again; no easy task.

Holding onto the back of his head, Beckett watched as Castle went back and forth over her breasts, sighing as each peck of his lips was a little jolt of energy that translated into warmth racing to between her legs. She fidgeted a little as he didn't stop, soon feeling him duck lower on her, trailing his lips in a line of pure fire that didn't stop until he reached the waistband of her pants. "Hurry," she said as she raised her hips while he was pulling them off. She was relieved when he took off her panties at the same time, sitting up as he turned to throw them on the floor with her top.

When he turned back to her, Castle was a little startled when his wife was cupping his face in her hands, kissing him deeply. He groaned in pleasure at the sensation, wrapping one arm around her before pressing on the small of her back. The feel of her bare skin made a shudder go through him and physically broke them apart. "Sorry, I…" he started to say.

Brushing her lips against his, Beckett said soothingly, "It was a tough week for us."

"It was," Castle said, a little startled to remember with her words that they'd argued earlier that week. "But now we can get back to normal."

Smiling, Beckett kissed him sensuously, lingering for as long as she could, and when they pulled apart she whispered to him, "Starting now."

Studying her eyes, Castle nodded and then brushed his lips to hers before he let her go to take off his shirt. He wasn't too surprised to feel her hands with his, nor was he when those hands ran in a stroking path down his bare chest. Hissing when she went back to his nipples and stroked at those, he had to grab her hands to stop her. "We'll get to that later," he promised her as she looked a little annoyed at his stopping her.

"How much later," Beckett said with a sigh as he stood next to the bed. She wasn't surprised when he didn't answer, watching as he climbed back onto her once he was naked though she was still sitting up.

"We'll see," Castle finally responded before he leaned down to take her lips with his. He kissed her hungrily that time, letting himself have full reign which he took advantage of as eagerly as he could. He very carefully laid her down and once she was doing so he started to stroke her form, whatever his right hand could reach. As she moaned against his lips and started to slightly squirm underneath him he pulled back and kissed around her neck a few times.

Watching him descend again, Beckett knew what he was doing; able to quickly discern it when he kept his groin as far apart from hers as he could. She wanted to protest and tell him that she was more than ready for him but something in her made her stop. He was kissing over her breasts again and once more she was moaning in pleasure at the reaction her body was having to him. Closing her eyes tightly she felt his hand on her and she arched her back a little as he started to fondle her nipple gently. She bit her lower lip but finally couldn't fight it and she opened her eyes to look at him saying, "Is this payback for what I did to you?"

"Not in the slightest," Castle replied. He then paused his thumb rolling around the taut nub and looking at his wife asked, "Should I stop?"

"If you don't-" Beckett started to say before all of a sudden he was bowing his head. She called his name in a mix of joy and surprise when he took her nipple in his mouth and her nails immediately dug into his scalp as he proceeded to suckle at her. She bit her lower lip harder that time, feeling the warmth of his mouth around her, working her skin back and forth. She watched him pull back eventually and gently blow on her skin, shivering in pleasure at the sensation and watching the way her skin prickled in reaction. "Oh Rick…" she whispered in her delight as he went to her other breast to repeat the same action there.

Shuddering; though able to keep that under control that time; Castle stayed at both mounds for a little longer until he pulled away carefully and looked into her eyes. He felt his heartbeat pounding rapidly in his chest at the sight of her half lidded gaze and he leaned over to kiss her. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, unable to keep himself from doing that as he was far too aroused. He felt his wife's hands on his shoulders, running over them a few times before she gently pushed him away. "I just don't want to rush into this," he said. "I still think we could have taken longer that first time."

Smiling at that, Beckett brushed her lips to his and murmured, "I was thinking about that last night too. And what we did was perfect; we had a lot of repression to get rid of."

"Yeah, you're proud of me for holding back that first time," Castle said. He laughed softly when he felt his wife's fingers nipping at his side and he leaned down to kiss her again but that time far more gently. When he was looking down at her again he told her, "This time I want to make it more special."

"And you're doing that," Beckett assured him. "I'm ready for you Rick, you don't need to prepare."

'Then call it self indulgence," Castle said quickly.

"Of me?" Beckett asked.

"Exactly," Castle replied. He waited, watching her breathlessly as he could tell she was deciding but finally she took his hand and when she pressed his on top of her abdomen he gave her a quick kiss before he went down to where his hand was. He proceeded to shower her skin with kisses, feeling it dancing beneath his lips as she cried out in surprise and pleasure he could tell. He then slowed down before he kissed a path from where he made himself stop moving down to her navel.

Feeling his tongue gently dipping into her there, Beckett cried out as it was almost as if a small explosion of pleasure and warmth shot straight to her sex. She then felt him pull back and when he gently tongued the edge of her she was holding onto the pillow under her with one hand; clenching at it. Her other hand was holding onto the back of her husband's head and she had to wonder how much further he was going to push them both when he slowly pulled away.

Kissing her, Castle took her hand and led it down in between them, not too surprised when she seemed to anticipate him and grasped his erection. He breathed out heavily as she stroked him slowly and he took a moment to finger her clit before he finally took pity on them both. Together they slipped the tip of him into her and looking into her eyes he slid the rest of the way in. He kept an unhurried pace doing that and once they were completely coupled he kept looking into her eyes, seeing her nodding at his unasked question. The first thrust had them both groaning in response in pleasure and he was quick to work up a rhythm though it was very careful and slow.

Beckett wrapped her legs around him as soon as she was sure of how he would want to move, wrapping her right leg above his waist and her other at his waist. She moved with him the best she could, with the slower pace of their bodies she found that she could roll her hips which she eagerly did as it never failed to produce a groan from her husband. She wasn't being unaffected herself as the feel of him so rigid inside of her was creating a kind of friction, not intense, but still a warmth that rapidly spread through her body. She was kissing Castle then as he took her lips, stroking his hair gently, almost in time with his movements. When they parted shortly after to breathe she looked into his eyes, watching the way he stared down at her. His blue eyes were nearly black and she had to shiver for a moment at the intensity within them. "You want me," she said then.

A little startled at that, Castle studied the expression on her face and then leaned down murmuring, "You feel it already," their lips brushing together with each word he said. He watched her turn her head to the side and he leaned down, pressing his lips over her jaw until he was going up to her ear. Nibbling on the shell of it he whispered to her, "I can feel how much you need me love, you asked for this."

Feeling her cheeks heat up at the reminder, Beckett turned back to look at him and she reached down, placing her hand on his hip which made him quickly stop. "You need me too so I don't think either one of us is going to win this," she told him. She then smirked slightly and at his startled expression at that told him, "Maybe you could prove which one of us wanted this more." She wasn't too surprised when her husband was soon crushing his lips back to hers but was at the fact that when he proceeded to thrust within her again he was keeping to his original rhythm, slow and steady against her body. She moaned into his mouth at the resurgence of the sensations running through her body and started to move with him again to make sure everything wasn't only occurring to her. And from the way he nearly lost his set pace after she started to do that she knew she was managing to accomplish that.

When they had parted from their kiss, Castle watched his wife closely as he started to try and use more force as he thrust down into her. When she was quick to respond he suddenly pushed himself up on his knees and put his hand on the small of her back to hold her up. He didn't alter his pace though they hadn't really used that position for when they were just making love and when she reached up to his arm, nearly digging her nails into his skin, he could tell she didn't mind that fact. He could feel her very tight around him still, nearly digging his own nails into her skin at the fact that she was working herself around him. "Wait…" he breathed out to her, trying not to pant too heavily.

"No, don't wait," Beckett said in a little irritation. "You can't- Rick!" she protested when he laid her back down on the bed. She groaned as he also stopped and she tried to move against him though he was keeping her from doing so by the weight of his body on top of her. "Were you that close?" she asked him.

"Me?" Castle said. "You were love, I could feel you-"

Beckett was quick to cover his mouth with her hand telling him, "You were."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Castle pulled her hand off of him and he leaned down, crushing his lips against hers as hard as possible. When he heard her satisfied moan he knew he hadn't been imagining things; she'd wanted to push him for that moment. He was about to start moving again when he hesitated slightly and then reached over for a pillow. "You're hard to read this time love," he told her as he tucked it under her hips with her help.

"I wanted to see how far I could go before you lost it," Beckett teased him with a smile. That was soon dropping off of her face as he proceeded to thrust and when she felt him speeding up only just barely compared to before she reached up to wrap her arms around him and kiss him. The restart of the awareness of them moving together brought back the feel of warmth that was quick to search out every inch of her body and she kissed her husband; more as a distraction than anything else.

At the same time Castle was looking for a distraction but more from that morning when he'd woken up alone. He was concentrating everything on feeling her, as he'd been so frustrated by his dreams, that he didn't realize he was almost setting her off again until he heard her suddenly begging him to make her come. He slowed down to the point where he was barely moving telling her, "Not yet my love," though he was having a hard time resisting the temptation her request provided.

"You can make me come a second time," Beckett told him, frustration in her again. "Just make me come now, I can't wait anymore… I can't hold off."

Castle hesitated for a moment and then finally got an idea from what she'd said, so he proceeded to move fast again until he had her writhing against him as he could feel the way her orgasm was running through her body. It took only a short time of feeling that for him to join her, groaning her name as she cried out his, and he didn't stop moving even as they came down from their high. He did slow down though as he could feel his wife a little limp beneath him. He leaned down to kiss her, taking a bit of pleasure at her lips responding before he slowly built up his speed at her working around him yet again, taking that as his cue.

Though she had become slightly exhausted with the force of her climax, Castle's lips on hers was quickly bringing Beckett around again. She reached up and caressed his cheeks repeatedly before he pulled away. When he started to whisper in her ear she was a bit startled when he was speaking tenderly to her and she held onto the back of his head as he went from her ear to her jaw. Lips trailing over her skin she was breathing out heavily, moans escaping past her own lips in response. He suddenly reached in between them and she froze for a moment before his hand slid down over her abdomen. She held herself still until he reached her clit and the first caress of his fingertips on the swollen nub nearly had her snapping her back up in response. His body on top of hers managed to stop it and she took the opportunity to kiss him instead. She plunged her tongue into his mouth, using it as a distraction from the pleasure that was rapidly suffusing her with joy yet again.

Castle could tell from the way his wife was eventually falling back on the bed that he was rapidly pushing her to the edge. He wasn't impervious to her himself, feeling the way she moved around him was making him shudder imperceptibly before he bowed his head the best he could. He started kissing at her breasts before he gently rubbed his tongue back and forth over her nipple. The noises she was making were affecting him and he grunted as she started to rake her nails over his shoulders. The way she held onto him he knew she was close and he was quick to move a little faster; keeping it at an easy pace still; wanting to push her further until she broke as he needed it badly himself.

Beckett could feel Castle's fingers circling her clit faster and harder and she closed her eyes tightly as she let herself go. Something snapped inside of her where they were coupled and she squeezed her arms tighter around him as she cried out his name repeatedly. The waves of her orgasm filled her with ecstasy that was much more intense than her first. She was somewhat dimly aware of her husband joining her and when it came to her that he was getting off she moaned, "Oh… Rick please, I need you… again…" not quite fully comprehending what she was saying. "I don't want to stop feeling you like this."

"I'll do whatever you want Kate," Castle told her, groaning into her neck. "I just want to feel you coming around me, just like this…" He moved a bit harder than he had been before she stopped undulating against him and suddenly seemed to collapse on the bed. "Love," he breathed, thrusting twice as hard as he could before he stopped and kept himself from falling against her. He quickly kissed her and hard before he was reaching in between them.

Beckett tensed for a moment when Castle fingered her clit, thinking he was going to do too much as she was a little hypersensitive after two climaxes. But when he very gently stroked at her, just barely brushing his fingertips against her, she said quickly, "Let me sit up."

A little startled at that; since she'd broken off their kiss very abruptly to speak; Castle did as she'd said since he couldn't really find any way to argue with that. And as soon as she was on her knees; both of them still coupled; he reached back down to the apex of her legs before he suddenly paused.

"What?" Beckett asked in surprise. When he leaned over to her and whispered in her ear she jerked back slightly and stared at him for a moment before she bit her lower lip. She waited a little more, to make him concerned about what he'd requested, before she slipped her hand down in the space between them. She started to rub at her clit while he was watching and she let out a soft moan while he was kissing her jaw and neck.

"Whenever you want to love…" Castle told her as he finally reached her ear.

At that Beckett started to move and she could almost feel Castle's surprise as he clutched at the small of her back a little hard. She would have smiled at that if a rush of pleasure wasn't hitting her already. And removing her hand from between them she was going to wrap her arms around him when he took that hand, taking her index finger first into his mouth. She was suddenly breathing hard, as her arousal had soaked her first three fingertips, and his gaze on her made her see that he was enjoying the taste of her.

If he had known what his wife was thinking as she watched him, Castle would have agreed at that moment though he was concentrating more on her. The feel of her, her body alternating between pushing itself up and down slowly and rolling her hips around him. The scent of her body after the shower was strong to him, roses and a subtle hint of lavender that made him lean up to her and nuzzle her skin, taking a deep breath to have that scent wash over him. As she leaned over and kissed him her taste was added to that and it was extra to what he'd tasted of her arousal, making him kiss her back as hard as he could. He grunted a little when she very slowly and deliberately rolled her hips against him then and he pulled back nearly growling to her, "You drive me crazy love."

"Perfect," Beckett replied as she traced her index finger over his lower lip. "Exactly…" she began to say before pausing as she let him angle her hips down against him. She moaned deeply when her next thrust down made her clit brush up against him. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as her husband leaned up to start kissing her neck. She seemed to suddenly recall what she'd been about to say and leaned down carefully so he stopped kissing her telling him, "Exactly what I wanted to do."

"That's why I love you," Castle said immediately, holding onto her hips and having her move at different angles. When she gave him a look he said, "Experimenting," before he captured her lips with his own. He kissed her deeply, flicking his tongue against her lower lip before slowly pulling back and then away from her. He wasn't too surprised when she almost jumped at him, crushing her lips against his. He let her take control of that, expecting her to get a little out of control which she soon did, their lips becoming swollen as she tilted her head back and forth and he was quick to do the same. "So many reasons why…" he mumbled as they parted to be able to breathe. He then leaned back slightly and reached up to her breasts, cupping them with his hands carefully. "Tell me how," he told her.

Beckett bit at her lower lip and showed him how she wanted him to touch her, a slow, steady stroking motion that he was quick to take over. She was moaning repeatedly, gasping and whispering his name and love. She had to wonder if he noticed the noises she was making but as he didn't stop, instead continued to touch her, she had a feeling that he did. She then took his hands and pulled them away before she said, "You're going to push me too far," as he was looking at her with a slightly startled expression.

"Then…" Castle said, not realizing that he sounded a little frantic as he looked around her naked upper body still moving against his. It took him a little longer to realize what he wanted to do but that he knew was because of the feel of Beckett around him, the way they were moving together. Finally he realized what he wanted and without a word to his wife he nearly dived down to her breasts.

Crying out slightly, Beckett held onto the back of his head as he captured her left nipple with his mouth. She wasn't sure how he had known she wanted him a little rougher there; especially since she hadn't known she did until he started; but she decided not to concern herself with answering that. Instead she tried to get his attention by reaching down and taking her other nipple with her fingers, waiting for him to notice.

Very quickly seeing that, since it was right out of the corner of his eye, Castle leaned back and watched her soon fondle both her breasts. He held onto the small of her back as she was doing that, to give her some support, and he kept his eyes on her hands watching the way she touched herself and taking note of how she did that. Finally he couldn't take it any longer and he moved her hands to replace them with his mouth, trying to go back and forth as much as he could before finally he leaned up to her lips. He was feeling everything getting stronger within him and knew he wouldn't be able to last for very long. When they had parted to breathe he looked deeply into her eyes and slid his hand up to the back of her head, tangling his fingers through her hair before he said as demandingly as he could, "You're going to come for me Kate, right now, as hard as you can."

Though she was a little taken aback by that Beckett was certain that her body had taken her over completely as it seemed his words had been enough to set her off. Her back was racked as her climax ran through her, every last inch of her body until she was surprised she wasn't bent back on the bed. Luckily her husband was supporting her with his hands before she could feel him clutching at her. She bit her lower lip though it didn't last, moaning his name repeatedly as she found a way to make herself hold onto the back of his head. She felt him thrusting up against her, repeatedly and consistently until she finally felt herself stopping. She let her body slump against his while he gave her a few more rough thrusts, nearly making her bounce before he began to slow down. She stroked at the back of his head as she held him feeling him eventually stop moving before he leaned against her, his breath rough against her skin.

It took him a little longer to recover but finally Castle was able to speak and he moved back slightly so he could tell her seriously, "I love you Kate."

Looking into his eyes, Beckett cupped his face with her hands and whispered to him as she put her forehead to his, "I love you too Rick."

"Always love," Castle said, leaning up and brushing his lips to hers.

"Always," Beckett murmured back to him before he was carefully helping her lay down on the bed. She watched him cover her and smiled as he went to the fire, turning it off. As he walked back to her she reached over to switch off the light on her nightstand and once he climbed into bed with her she made sure he was covered as well before he took her against his side.

Feeling her cheek press against his shoulder, Castle proceeded to stroke her hair and said idly, "I missed you last night."

'Believe me when I say I did too," Beckett replied, smiling as she felt him cuddle her closer to him. "But you do realize what we need to do now."

"Forget?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he smiled himself. "You're right, it'll be better for us tomorrow when we play with the girls."

"Also for us," Beckett replied, looking up at him. When he tilted his head down to look at her she kissed him quickly on the lips before saying, "You're dwelling Rick, I can tell. But so am I, so let's focus on Julia and Eliza… and us."

Smiling again at that, Castle leaned down and kissed her gently, letting it linger for as long as possible before he pulled back. "We should definitely do that," he told her. "And I'm looking forward to tomorrow too."

As he pressed his forehead to hers momentarily, Beckett said, "So am I."

And with a last gentle, lingering kiss they settled down to sleep, wrapped up tightly in each other's arms. As they eventually nodded off in the warmth of each other's embrace, Castle and Beckett could still feel that same sense of relief that had come to them through the day since everything with Dunn had been resolved. They slept peacefully, deeply, back together and their dreams reflected that as both saw memories of their relationship that mainly dealt with the more intimate aspect of it. While the night continued they took their joy with what they were recalling, so it was little surprise that their desire for each other transferred to when they awoke to the morning of the next day.


	16. To Be Back Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Back in the USSR by The Beatles, from their album The Beatles.

Leaning back as Castle finished propping up her back with pillows; Beckett gave him a quick peck on the lips and smiled when he froze. She let him stay in the position he was in, on his knees next to her, to see if he would move. But when he didn't, she said, "Well?"

Shaken by that, Castle quickly moved but only to lean down and take her lips in a very careful, gentle kiss. When she placed her hand on his cheek he could feel her frustration but he ignored it until he needed to breathe. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck on the side, trying to ignore the sight of the cut on her throat. He continued in a downward motion, pressing kisses to her skin until he reached her breasts and there he did the same to each mound. But that time he kept things a little more simple, brushing his lips against her. At her sighs of pleasure he groaned in the back of his throat before putting his focus back on her and he quickly moved down again before he stayed in the same place.

Her hand stroking the back of his head Beckett watched her husband go further, his lips over her abdomen that made the skin dance under his touch. She wasn't sure which of them had instigated things that morning but was sure they were both recalling the night before. She had no way of knowing her husband was in the same situation but she was very aware of the fact that her dreams of them had helped her wake up more than aroused already. She was brought back to the present when Castle gently stroked her clit and she gasped out roughly before he looked up at her. She thought he was going to make a smart ass remark when instead he just smiled at her before ducking his head back down.

Castle didn't waste any more time as he could tell from that kiss that she was more than ready and he went to her clit, gently taking the swollen nub in between his lips. He proceeded to suck carefully on it, feeling Beckett arching her back just from the way her body moved below him. He did that for a few minutes before he carefully pulled back, feeling her shudder at the audible smack his mouth made. He then went down to her entrance and took a moment to gently finger her slick folds before he lowered his head.

Closing her eyes tightly in response to that, Beckett tried not to let the sensation of him pleasuring her with his tongue and eventually his hand at the same time push her too swiftly to the edge. She tried to use grabbing at the pillow under her head as a distraction though it didn't quite work, especially when Castle proceeded to switch his mouth and hand a few times very rapidly. She couldn't stop moving her hips in response to him as the pleasure was steady and she wasn't sure how much longer she could resist him.

Pulling back after a while, Castle went up to her lips and kissed her for a moment before he took the opportunity to trail kisses down her body until he was back at her sex. There he proceeded to do the same as before, using his fingers and mouth at the same time and switching where they were repeatedly until he could tell from how tense she was holding herself that she was close.

Beckett wasn't sure how long her husband had been working her up to the inevitable but from the way her body was losing the ability to hold herself up slightly she guessed it was a while. When Castle started to stroke at her clit with the pads of his fingertips that was the last thing her body; tightly coiled from pleasure; was able to take before everything within her broke down and she was crying out. She knew it was her husband's name, just because that was what she instinctively would say in her ecstasy, but she thought she was saying something else, not sure what though. She felt him continuing to stroke her sex with his tongue and she trembled as she finished her orgasm moaning his name repeatedly.

When he was sure he was able to get every last bit of her release Castle finally pushed himself up to her and he leaned down to kiss at her neck. He wasn't surprised when Beckett pulled him up to her and he let her kiss him before they slowly parted. "You must have enjoyed that," he told her with a smirk.

Beckett looked at him, a little startled, and said, "Well… of course I did."

"You don't know?" Castle asked.

"Know what?" Beckett replied with a question, really confused as to what point he was trying to make.

"You were begging me to keep licking your pussy," Castle told her with a wider smirk; though he wasn't sure if that was possible. "Naughty, naughty mouth my love."

Though she was sure that she should have felt embarrassed at that, Beckett's slightly surprised expression turned into a smile and she looked at her husband as that smile became a smirk.

"What?" Castle said, so startled at the change in her expression that he lost his grin.

"You enjoyed that," Beckett said, trying to keep the amusement from saturating her voice; though it was hard.

"I-" Castle started to say before he broke himself off with a hiss that nearly sounded like an explosion ricocheting off the walls of their room. "Damn it Kate," he groaned as she had reached in between them without him noticing and grasped his erection. "Yes… I did enjoy it and… you can't… blame me," he said, pausing in saying that as she was stroking at him gently. "Can I…?" he started to ask.

"No," Beckett said simply before she pushed on his shoulders after letting him go. She made him turn around so he had his back pressed against the pillows that she'd been on. She smiled when he just stared at her as she leaned down to him and kissed him gently before he started to respond and quickly. She moaned softly in pleasure at the feel of his tongue as it gently rubbed against her lower lip before she allowed him access to her mouth. They fought a little between themselves before they slowly parted. She bit at her lower lip, having to stop him when he tried to lean up to kiss her again. "No," she told him simply again.

"Come on, just let me," Castle said, trying to grab her hips then to lead her down to him. When she slapped his hands until he removed them he couldn't help groaning as he complained, "You're going to make me-" before she covered her mouth with his hand.

"When have I not taken care of you?" Beckett pointed out to him.

"Never," Castle said slowly.

"Good," Beckett said quickly before she moved and leaned down, pressing her lips against his chest as he groaned loudly. She went back and forth over his skin, feeling him reach up to her back, holding onto it before he tried to bring her up. She resisted him easily and moved down further until she had reached his groin. She didn't hesitate once she was there, quickly moving to slip his member into her mouth before proceeding to run her tongue over him.

Reaching down to Beckett's head, Castle was quick to tell himself repeatedly to tangle his fingers through her hair instead of trying to run them through the locks as he knew he was likely to snag on them. He wasn't sure why that was the thought prevalent in his mind but he was soon distracted by the rhythm she was taking. He watched her head bobbing up and down slowly, so much so he was tempted to guide her so she moved a little faster, but she soon did before he could. He clenched his teeth together tightly as the pleasure was swift to go through his entire form, making him press himself down on the bed harder.

Making sure she was paying attention to her husband, Beckett was quick to change the way she pleasured him to go with how he reacted to her. When he was far tenser than he was the moment before she slowed down until he relaxed and then started up again, keeping up with him the best she could since as time went on the period when he was tense was happening for much longer. She tried to slow down a little as she was able to tell that he was beginning to get to the point where he was going to lose control but he was groaning to her and she could hear in his tone that he was close to begging her.

"Kate… love… please," Castle hissed as he was very swiftly losing the battle with his own body. He had no idea if she'd heard him but guessed that she had as she was soon reaching up to fondle and cup him a few times before he lost it. He was forcing himself down into the bed again, far harder than he had done previously as he knew if he didn't he was going to end up thrusting against her and he tried to keep from doing that. The pleasure was intense in him and he called out her name through the length of his peak and he was a little lost to time as he had no clue how long he was within it. All he knew was that the roaring in his ears was easing up until he slumped back on the bed, realizing that he was stroking his wife's hair. "God, Kate," he said, pulling her up to him.

Beckett smiled and pulled away before he could kiss her saying, "You wanted that didn't you?"

"Was I telling you to-" Castle started to say.

"No, but I could tell the way you were saying my name," Beckett replied with a smirk. She then leaned down to kiss him and wasn't too surprised when he quickly grabbed her to flip her around onto her back without breaking the passionate lock their lips were in. She started to stroke his hair as he didn't stop kissing her and she finally had to break their third one to whisper, "You're insatiable."

"No, I'm not," Castle quickly said as he knew they would need to get up soon. "I just… couldn't help it after what you did for me. Thanks by the way."

"A thank you for what you did for me," Beckett said, smiling as he kissed around her collarbone. She was a little surprised when he suddenly stopped; staring down at her before she realized that he was looking at her cut. "I'm fine," she was quick to say, thinking she needed to assure him.

"I know, I just…" Castle started to say before he trailed off and kissed her. He kept that very sensuous and calm, before he pulled back to press his forehead to hers. " _I adore you_ Kate," he murmured against her lips which brushed against his as he spoke.

" _I adore you_ Rick _, I'm pretty sure you were able to feel that_ ," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband pulled back a little to look into her eyes and she quickly brought him back down to her to kiss him again. But before either of them could get too involved in that the alarm on her nightstand began to sound and she sighed as he pulled back roughly in surprise at that. "Well," she said as he pulled away from her. "We do have today with the girls, you have that tea party," she said to try and cheer them both up.

"There's been a little change of plans with that," Castle said as they got off the bed.

"Oh?" Beckett asked, her eyebrow slightly raised as she turned to look at him.

"Yep," Castle said simply. He could feel her staring at him as they walked together to the closet and finally said, "I'll let the girls tell you."

Beckett didn't reply to that, waiting until they were both dressed and were finishing their morning preparations in the bathroom before she said to her husband, "You do realize that I know you asked them to make those changes right?"

Glancing at her after drying his hands, Castle was about to protest that, when he realized that it hadn't been too hard for her to figure it out. So he told her, "I suggested we make it a tea lunch so you could join us."

"And they were okay with that?" Beckett asked, studying him after she'd put away her brush once her hair had been combed.

"They seemed pretty happy that I'd thought of it to tell you the truth," Castle said, nodding as she stepped up to him, leaning against him. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "We have great kids Kate."

"You're including Alexis right?" Beckett asked him.

"Of course," Castle replied.

Smiling Beckett pressed her lips gently to his before saying, "I'm not sure she'd want to be called a kid but she'd love the sentiment."

"She'd be happy you included her there," Castle replied. "But yeah, I love our girls," he told her, nodding.

"Then let's wake them up and make breakfast with them," Beckett told him.

"Wait," Castle said. He was going to pull her into a kiss before he suddenly found her doing so to him. He wrapped his arms around her tighter as he responded to her quickly and when they finally pulled apart he said, "So we've still got it."

"Yes, I read your mind," Beckett said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She gave him a peck on the lips and then let go of him, taking his hand so he would go with her.

While he had already been intending to follow, Castle didn't bother to let his wife know that as he was enjoying her holding his hand. When they reached Julia's room he smiled seeing that their youngest was sleeping on her back, her hair over her face.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Beckett gently smoothed the strands of hair away from Julia's face until it was uncovered and she leaned down, pressing her lips to the little girl's forehead. "Morning sweetie," she whispered as she sat back up and saw her opening her eyes slowly.

"Mommy," Julia said with a sigh as she sat up quickly and threw her arms around her mother's neck. "I was afraid when I fell asleep it was gonna be a dream."

Kissing her temple Beckett asked, feeling Castle sitting behind her, "Did that feel like a dream?"

"No," Julia said, smiling before kissing her cheek. "Morning Daddy," she said, looking at him from around her mother. She squealed as Castle reached out to her and pulled her over to him and she hugged him tightly around the neck before he kissed her cheek. "Are you happy?" she asked him as she pulled away to look at him.

"Oh of course," Castle said. "We're going to wake up your sister now; do you want to come with us?"

"You don't want me to get dressed?" Julia asked him.

"You don't need to," Beckett replied.

"You know you can have your mom help you and Eliza get dressed later," Castle said as they stood up and he picked her up.

"Why?" Beckett asked before they left the room.

"I have to grab lunch," Castle told her.  
Beckett was about to speak, to joke about him leaving her to do that when she stopped herself as she realized the girls might have missed her doing that for them the morning before. So she just smiled and said, "I can but you know Julia can change on her own."

"Yeah she's right but my hair," the little girl said matter of factly before they came out into the hall.

"I'll do that," Beckett said, knowing that their oldest had missed that for sure. They came into Eliza's room then and she walked a little faster to the bed, taking the net off the side and sitting down quickly. She pressed her lips against the toddler's forehead, not surprised to feel her immediately squirm in response to that. "Morning," she said, smiling into her eyes when she pulled back and saw they were wide open. She ran the back of her hand against her cheek and said, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah," Eliza said sleepily before she sat up. She twined her arms around her mother's neck and cried out when she picked her up. "Do I get dressed?" she asked in surprise when her mother carried her out into the hall.

Before either Castle or Beckett could say anything to that question, Alexis and Jim came out and after they greeted each other Martha joined them. The family headed down the stairs as they told Castle's mother good morning and Castle started on breakfast as the others were talking together around him.

"You don't need my help," Beckett said, going to him as he was stirring his pot of oatmeal.

"Richard, Kate, I'm taking the girls up so they can get dressed," Martha called.

"I guess they felt awkward being the only ones in pajamas," Beckett replied.

"Probably but I think I'm good love," Castle said.

"So they were telling us," Jim said, coming over to the kitchen and getting some orange juice from the fridge. "That you're going to have a tea lunch, a very special one."

"Did they tell you any details?" Beckett asked her father. When he nodded she turned to her husband and said, "Oh, so everyone knows but me."

"It's supposed to be a surprise for you," Castle said. When his wife just started at him he asked, "Not convincing?"

"No," Beckett replied. When he looked slightly concerned she then smiled and said, "It's alright, I just hope you're not going over the top with this."

"What'd you think I was going to do? Decorate the dining room in pink streamers and balloons?" Castle asked.

Smiling Beckett said, "A part of me did," before she laughed softly at him. She then hurriedly told him, "So we're going to be in the dining room?"

"We are," Castle said, checking on the oatmeal and turning off the burner as quickly as he could. He then leaned over and kissed her cheek before telling her, "But that's lunch."

"I realize when it is," Beckett said, mocking slight annoyance before she pressed her lips to his and went to set the table since the girls weren't back with Martha yet.

Following her to the table with the bowl of oatmeal he'd transferred it to, Castle looked over as the girls and his mother came over to the nook and he said, "You two look so pretty," he told them with a smile.

"Mommy," Julia and Eliza said together after they'd thanked their father at the same time.

"You sure that's not hereditary love?" Castle asked his wife, pretending to jump at their talking in unison.

"It's not, what's wrong you two?" Beckett asked them.

"Gram did our hair for us," Julia said. "I know I said I wanted-"

"It's not often that you get to have your gram to do that for you both, so I say take advantage of that as much as you can," Beckett said.

"Really?" Julia asked before her sister echoed her. She looked at Eliza and smiled at her before looking back at their mother with her.

"Really," Beckett replied, picking up Eliza then and lifting her slightly above her head. "Oh, you're getting to be so big," she said as the toddler gave a little gasp of exclamation at that. "My little one," she said, kissing her temple as she cuddled her close in a hug. She smiled when Eliza giggled shyly at that and as she was putting her in her high chair she caught sight of her father out of the corner of her eye. She smiled at him before getting her youngest settled in her chair to go to Julia.

"Thank you for setting the table for me Mommy," the little girl said, wrapping her arms around her waist. "You're gonna stay for the tea lunch right?" she then asked, remembering what she and her little sister had been talking to the rest of their family about.

"As long as I've been invited," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her before helping her to her chair.

"Yeah, you were," Julia replied, watching with her sister as their father walked over to Beckett with her mug of coffee in his hands.

Taking it from him, Beckett murmured, "You're a sappy man Rick," as in the foam she saw a single heart.

"It stands to reason," Castle said seriously before they smiled at each other at the same time and leaned into one another to share a simple kiss before going to the table to sit with their family.

"Ooh, pretty!" Eliza cried as Beckett was showing her and Julia the heart.

"Yeah, that's perfect," the little girl said seriously to Castle. "And you love Mommy more now right? Now that she's home?"

"You saw my reason for doing that, you're very smart sweetheart," Castle told her, smiling as he squeezed her arm, pausing in ladling out the oatmeal for everyone. When he was sitting down he said to the others, "Sunday I was thinking; while making this for us all; that we should head out."

"Aren't we going out tonight Dad?" Alexis asked.

"Brunch at _The Buffet_ would be nice," Castle suggested.

" _The Buffet_? Is that the name of the place?" Beckett asked.

"You've never taken Kate there?" Martha asked in surprise. She then looked at Beckett's father and said, "Or Jim?"

"There was never really a chance to," Castle said. He turned to his wife and said, "It's just called _Buffet_ and it is what it says."

"I'm assuming it's good," Beckett said.

"They only do Sunday brunch," Martha said.

"You should see the desserts," Alexis then said. When her dad shot her a look he she said, "Someone has to warn her; I know you and Gram won't do it," pretending to sound exasperated.

"We'll go," Beckett said, smiling as the girls giggled at their older sister's tone. "But we'll have to watch them with those desserts."

"Do you want to leave for the city from there?" Castle asked his wife.

"Would we need to dress up?" Beckett replied. When he, Martha and Alexis all nodded she asked, indicating the girls, "They can go?" At three more nods she quickly said, "Then we should come home, change and then go."

"Mommy, Daddy," Julia said when they were quiet for a moment to go back to their meal. When they both responded to her she said, "Can we go through the museums again?"

"Sure," Castle said, smiling at his wife as they'd gone through possible sites to visit during their week in the city a number of times already.

The family proceeded to talk about where they would go, the others urging the girls to have the most say before things went to their memories of visiting those museums before. They spent the rest of the meal almost literally breaking down their whole week of Spring Break before they began to clean up together, the conversation spilling over into that as the girls couldn't stop, getting excited to spend time in the city with their family. But when everything was cleaned the family split up as Martha, Alexis and Jim were soon going to head out to their lunches, leaving Castle and Beckett alone at the door to the backyard.

"What do you think about going on a walk with them?" Castle asked his wife as they studied the weather.

"With Macca?" Beckett said. When he nodded she replied, "Sure, I was going to suggest taking them to the playground but we can do both."

"That would look too silly Grandpapa," the two heard Julia saying behind them. She and Eliza were walking hand in hand with Jim down the stairs and when she saw her parents she told them, "Grandpapa's going golfing."

"You didn't mention that yesterday," Beckett said with a smile as Eliza was swinging hers and her grandfather's hands slightly.

"Well, Michael called this morning and suggested a round at the country club; they have the snow off," Jim replied as they went over to the entry. "He'll take me to lunch there as well."

"That'll be a great lunch then," Castle said.

"That's what Michael told me," Jim replied. "But luckily we'll be starting soon enough so I can come back to you two."

"I hope you score low when you play your game Grandpapa," Julia said once he'd finished putting his shoes on.

"Me too," Eliza said quickly.

Smiling at them, Jim took them into his arms and hugged them tightly to him before kissing them on the cheek. "Thank you, I'll tell you how I do later," he said.

"Do you need a set of clubs?" Castle asked.

"He's got a spare set I can use," Jim said when there was a honk from the driveway. "And that's him. Have fun with your lunch girls."

Saying goodbye to Beckett's father before he left, Castle turned at the sound of footsteps down the hall and said, "Any reason why you're leaving early too? It's just lunch right?"

"Not just lunch," Martha replied. "We're invited to shop in downtown Southampton before we eat."

"We're going to look through the boutiques for something to wear tonight; we didn't bring anything for _The Narrows_ ," Alexis said.

"We could go somewhere else," Beckett said.

"That's alright," Martha said, shaking her head as she was putting on a coat.

"I think she wants to shop," Castle said in a low tone to his wife.

"Richard I still heard that," Martha said, pretending to sound annoyed. She smiled when her youngest granddaughters giggled at the expression on their father's face and she turned to them saying, "What will you be doing before your special lunch?"

"We're taking Macca on a walk and then going to the playground," Beckett said as the girls looked to her and Castle, slightly confused. When they gasped in joy she said, "And then we'll have that lunch."

"We'll want to hear all about what you do," Alexis said then, leaning down to hug the girls and kiss them.

"She's right we will," Martha said in amusement as the two turned to her at the same time.

"At dinner we can say," Julia said. When her sister looked up at her with a frown she explained, "So we have something to say too."

"Oh, good," Eliza said, looking thoughtful before she nodded slightly.

"Have a great time out," Beckett said, as the girls hugged and kissed their grandmother.

"We will and hope you two have fun with Dad and your mom," Alexis said before they went to the garage.

Once the two were in the car and pulling out, Castle said to Julia and Eliza, "Are we ready to go?"

"After we get coats and boots on," Beckett replied.

"Boots?" Julia asked as they went back into the house.

"It's going to be wet outside, the snow is almost finished melting," Beckett said.

Gasping, Julia said eagerly, "Can we go in puddles?"

"You can," Beckett said, smiling at that.

"Just don't go crazy," Castle replied. When he noticed his wife glancing at him he said, "Come on, you weren't going to say that?"

Smiling and shaking her head Beckett said, "He's right, we'll give you a bath before we leave for dinner so you can go through puddles but don't swim in them."

Eliza giggled at that and once her mother had set her down she stomped back and forth in her rain boots that her parents had been helping her put on. She then looked up at her mother and said, "Are you gonna go?"

"We will," Castle said quickly. "But don't forget we're going to the playground too."

"That means we can't just go through puddles," Julia told her sister.

"She's right," Beckett said when Eliza looked at her questioningly. "We're ready so we should go before it's time for lunch."

"Is Macca ready?" Julia asked as Castle was finishing putting on the last of the dog's boots on his paws. "Can we take him?" she asked as soon as her father had nodded his head.

"For now, if he's too excited your mom or I will," Castle said as he handed the leash to her. Taking Beckett's hand they followed their daughters out to the back and then down the beach, going the way in front of the Fosters' home as the playground was in that direction. "Oh, was wondering if we'd see them today," he said as David was coming out onto his patio and waving to them.

"Kate!" Rebecca said as she ran out to them on the sand. She hugged her friend tightly and said, "I would have come to see you yesterday when you got back but thought you'd want to rest and spend time with your family."

"You could have come over," Beckett said with a smile as she let her go. She glanced over at Mari who had come out after her mother and said, "How's Dani?"

"She's fine, I made David watch her," Rebecca replied. "What about you?"

Knowing that her friend was looking at the bandage she'd placed on her neck, Beckett said, "I'm good, just a few bruises and this but I came out alright."

"I'm glad to hear that," Rebecca said. "I should let you go but you're telling me what happened more in detail."

"The next time we meet," Beckett promised as she could tell from the firm tone of her friend's voice that she wasn't kidding.

After saying goodbye to Rebecca and Mari, Castle took his wife's hand again as they started down the beach and said to Julia, "He's not too excited?"

"No he calmed down now," the little girl said firmly.

"Then you know where to turn when we get close to the playground," Castle said. With the girls slightly out of earshot from them he turned to his wife and said, "I expected her to come over sooner."

"Me too but it doesn't surprise me she waited," Beckett replied. "You said David was there when Brad deputized you?"

"Right after Brad explained why he did that and David allowed it," Castle said.

"We really need to thank him," Beckett said. She then smiled and said, "I don't know why it slipped my mind but did he know about the gun you were taking." When her husband glanced up at the sky she nudged him in the side before he laughed.

"No, actually no one knew outside the basement, so basically Shaw," Castle told her. "Why, you think I would have gotten in trouble for it?"

"Someone likely would have said something," Beckett shrugged. "I just want this to be over," she explained when he looked at her in a little confusion.

"I don't blame you, me too," Castle replied, nodding slightly. He let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder when the girls were stopping at a path through some sand dunes. "Hey and you stopped for us, great," he said teasingly to them.

"We stopped 'cause Mommy would have said to," Julia replied with a wide smile.

"Yeah," Eliza said.

"Keep going," Beckett told them, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice at how firmly her youngest had said that. They went off the beach and then to the street where she took Macca from Julia. "So you can go in puddles for a little," she explained when the little girl was about to protest.

"Oh, thanks Mommy!" Julia said before hurrying ahead with her sister to jump into one. "We're gonna change right?"

"Yes, keep going," Castle said. "Until you get to the end of the street," he hurried to add as the two were stomping their feet in the water. He stood with Beckett at the edge and said, "Did you ever do this?"

"Of course," Beckett replied, keeping her eyes on the girls. She smiled and nudged her husband in the side telling him, "Take some pictures."

"Sure you don't want to?" Castle asked, taking out his phone. He hurried to start when his wife had just looked at him and took a set of pictures as the girls then started to walk down the street to other puddles. Eventually they reached the corner and since the park was across it he put away his phone to take Eliza's hand as Beckett took Julia's.

"The playground might be wet," Beckett told the girls when they stood on the edge of it. "So try to avoid what is."

"What if everything is?" Castle then asked.

"We'll see," Beckett said simply before they followed their daughters down onto the wood chips and to the smallest of the slides that Eliza liked to go on.

"This one isn't wet Mommy can we go?" Julia asked.

"Go ahead," Beckett replied, starting to reach over to Castle to get him to take pictures when he grabbed her hand. Looking to him she saw he had his phone in his other hand and she smiled as she went to stand next to the slide as he stood at the end.

"Ready?" Julia was asking her little sister. When she nodded she pushed them off and they slid down as Eliza was giggling heavily in joy as they reached their father.

"Again!" the toddler cried.

"Mommy-" Julia started to say.

"Go ahead, I'll watch her," Beckett answered.

"Don't forget to check and make sure it's not wet," Castle said as Julia went to the biggest of the slides.

"I don't think it is," the little girl said, studying what she could see of the slide. "What about there?"

"No, you're good," Castle said before looking up at her and watching as she sat down. He took pictures of her going around until she stopped at the end in front of him. "Fun?" he asked as she was smiling, her cheeks becoming pink.

"Yeah, we didn't get to do this for a long time," Julia said eagerly before she went to the small rock climbing wall.

Castle watched her place her foot on the first two but as she went to the third she suddenly slid back down and he was quick to go to her.

"Ouch, I hurt my knee," Julia said as her father helped her stand up straight. Looking up at him she smiled as he seemed to be concerned and she told him, "I'm okay, just stung a little."

"Eliza wants to swing you two," Beckett said, walking around to them with the toddler in her arms. "What's wrong?" she asked as she noticed the way the two were standing.

"I slipped on this and Daddy was worried but I'm okay," Julia explained quickly. "I'll swing with you Lizzy," she said, hurrying to her mother and reaching up to take Eliza's hand, squeezing it gently.

"Go ahead but if they're wet…" Beckett said. "She is okay."

"Oh I know," Castle said as he walked with her over to the swings after their daughters. "I just hate that moment when you're not sure if they're more hurt than you think."

"She isn't," Beckett said as they watched Julia trying to pick up Eliza to place her on one of the swings. She hurried over to them and glanced at the swings for smaller children, seeing the bottoms were still wet. "Well, it looks like you're going to need to swing with one of us," she told the toddler. "Who'll it be?" When Eliza pointed to her sister she smiled and shook her head saying, "Either me or your daddy."

"When I get bigger we can do that," Julia said.

Pouting still, Eliza when smiled and went to Beckett, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face against her side before peering up at Castle.

"Don't worry," he said, knowing why she had done that. "I don't mind that you want to go with your mom but next time I get the first time on the swing with you."

"Kay," Eliza said as her mother sat on the swing before her father placed her on her lap. She leaned back against Beckett as they started to go back and forth, beaming at her sister and Castle on either side of them, waving before resting her head back on her mother's shoulder.

Julia watched the two for a moment before she jumped off the swing and went over to the stairs up to the slide again. She knew her parents and sister were watching her go, so at the top she waved to them, smiling when she heard Eliza cry out her name as she waved.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to keep going on the slide," Castle said as they watched Julia coming down.

"I think she got tired of it," Beckett said with a smile as she leaned down and kissed the top of Eliza's head.

"Wanna go," the toddler then said, squirming on her mother's lap.

"Where?" Castle asked as he went to take her hand after Beckett had set her down. He let her lead him over to the seesaw and said, "How's that going to work?" he asked his wife as he looked back at her since she was following them.

"You can play on this with Julia-" Beckett started to say as the little girl had come over to them.

"No, you too!" Eliza said firmly.

"We're not going to really be able to go anywhere," Castle said.

"Not if it's boys against girls," Julia said, smiling when her sister nodded eagerly to that.

"Well, I guess that could work," Castle said hesitantly.

" _You're going to need to move love_ ," Beckett said as she followed their daughters to the other side of the seesaw and helped Eliza on it first. "Just be careful."

"Good point," Castle replied, waiting until Beckett was sitting behind Julia. He then got on the other end and smiled when the girls cried out in surprise as they immediately went up. "I think you're going to have to move your side love," he called to his wife.

"I do ride horses," Beckett shot back as she pushed them back up in the air.

"That's also a good point," Castle said. He was surprised then to realize that he could have easily taken that as an innuendo but didn't. "Hey, think I've grown up at all?"

"You're asking me that on a seesaw?" Beckett said as they went up again.

"Sure, why not," Castle said.

"You're a grown up Daddy," Julia said, as she and her sister were obviously listening.

"You heard her," Beckett said as Castle had looked to her then.

"Great," he replied before he started to slow them down as she'd made a gesture with her hand to him. "Okay," he said as the girls started to groan in complaint when he stopped. "My legs are getting a little tired and we need to get going home to have our lunch."

"Can we still play or do we have to go?" Julia asked as she waited for Castle to take Eliza off from in front of her.

"One more thing," Beckett said before the toddler was taking off for the group of spring riders towards the side of the playground.

"Not a surprise," Castle commented as they followed her over to it. He picked her up, tossing her above his head a little to her shriek of joy before he kissed her cheek. "So which one will it be?" he asked as Julia was climbing onto a black horse.

"Not a surprise there either," Beckett said wryly as their youngest pointed to a white horse in the group. She waited for him to put Eliza on it and when he walked over to her leaned against him saying, "I'm glad we came," as Macca; who they'd allowed to roam as far as his leash went; came back to them and sat next to her.

"Me too but you know you're going to have to head home with them," Castle told her, putting his arm around her.

"I thought you were going to make lunch," Beckett said. When he looked to her she told him in as serious a voice as she could manage; trying not to smile; "No one's telling me much about this meal you know."

Castle nearly believed her until she suddenly smiled a little and he laughed saying, "My mom would probably have applauded that. But no, I'm grabbing lunch."

When he leaned down and whispered where he was going to get it, Beckett looked over at the girls and said, "They'll love that."

"I wanted to go all out," Castle told her. "They need this."

"I think we all do," Beckett replied as she turned to him. She made him lean down to her before they kissed gently. She hesitated a little when she was about to pull away and she could have easily deepened the kiss if their youngest hadn't called to them then. "What is it?" she asked, smiling as Eliza looked hesitant when they turned to her.

"Can I go down?" the toddler said. When her father came over she said, "Don't go Daddy."

"I won't take too long," Castle assured her. "Just going to get everything to make sure lunch is perfect." He heard Julia giggle and looking at her asked, "What're you laughing about?" keeping his tone of voice teasing.

"It's funny you want to do that," the little girl replied. "Even if it wasn't perfect it's okay."

"Still, you two deserve to have a nice tea," Castle replied.

"Hold Macca for a second sweetie?" Beckett asked the little girl before handing her the leash. "How're you planning on having tea?" she asked her husband as the girls started walking Macca to the grass in front of them.

"We can give her white tea," Castle answered, nodding to Eliza. "Milk of course. Julia can have weaker Chamomile and you and I can have Earl Grey… or whatever you want."

"That's fine, you better get going," Beckett replied. "We'll see you back at home."

Sharing a kiss with her quickly, Castle then went over to the girls and said, "I'm heading out but I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Do we set the table?" Julia asked him as she and her sister hugged him.

"Yep, use whatever your mom says is okay to use first," Castle told them. He kissed them on the cheek and then scratched behind one of Macca's ears before he set off in the direction of downtown which wasn't too far from where they were.

"Mommy can we go home now?" Julia asked when they were alone.

Unable to help smiling at that, Beckett said, "Do you really want to?"

"Yes please," Julia said, not surprised when her little sister echoed her immediately.

"Alright, then let's get going," Beckett told them, holding her hands out to them both. When they were quick to take them she started walking back home, going the way that they'd come on the beach since it was easier to walk Macca that way.

"Now we can set the table," Julia said excitedly once they were back in the house.

"Why are you so eager to do that?" Beckett asked, smiling at her as she was hanging their coats in the entry closet.

"'Cause I want to make the table look like it's a real tea table," Julia replied.

"Me too," Eliza said, tugging on her hand.

"You'll let me help you?" Beckett asked them. When the girls nodded eagerly she said, "Then let's wash our hands and get started," as she led them to the bathroom while Macca barked coming in from the garage and followed them.

"Macca helps too," Eliza said as they looked at the dog as she and Julia stood at the sink.

"He'll supervise," Beckett said slightly absently, concentrating on helping the toddler scrub her hands together in the soap. She was the last of them to wash her hands and as soon as she had dried them she followed her daughters to the dining room where they rushed in.

"So can we use something special?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Please?" Eliza said.

"Let me get the china set that was your grandmama's," Beckett said.

Sharing a slightly shocked look with her little sister, Julia said, "Are you sure?"

"You don't want to?" Beckett asked, looking back at them.

"No we do but that's very special," Julia said before frowning for a moment. "Grandmama would think it's okay if we used it right?"

"She would," Beckett said firmly; not surprised that Julia was concerned about that since they usually used that set just for Christmas. "Since we do use it when we're celebrating."

"Christmas now?" Eliza asked as Beckett was setting a stack of plates on top of the table.

"Not yet," Beckett replied in amusement. "Now we can use these little plates," she told them, showing them as she handed one to Julia to put down at one of the four places where they'd sit. "I never knew what they were for."

"You never asked Grandmama?" Julia said, taking the second one and going to set it down carefully.

"I did but she wasn't sure, maybe for salad," Beckett replied.

"Mommy, I wanna help," Eliza said, tugging at the hem of her blouse.

"Hold on, you'll put the napkins for me okay?" Beckett asked, leaning down to run her hand over her hair. When the toddler smiled and nodded she couldn't help exchanging a kiss with her before doing the same with Julia once she'd walked back to her. With their help the table was soon set and she heard the front door being unlocked before the girls rushed out to greet their father, Macca barking and running after them.

"Hey I guess you're hungry," Castle said in amusement when he looked over at them after locking the door.

"Oh, what did you get?" Julia asked excitedly, seeing the bags in both his hands.

"You'll see," Castle replied. "For now though your mom and I need to get things ready so go ahead and play in the family room."

"We can't watch?" Julia said.

"It'll be a surprise," Beckett said, coming into the entry then. When Julia had led her little sister over to the room she took Castle's kiss and said, "You went all out it looks like."

"I didn't go crazy," Castle assured her. "Just enough for the four of us. Come on," he said, taking her hand with his free one and pulling her into the kitchen after they'd checked on their daughters in the family room as they passed the doorway.

"I wonder what we're gonna have," Julia was saying to Eliza after their parents had passed them.

Shrugging, the toddler said, "Wanna get my dress."

"That's for dinner," Julia said quickly. "That's going to be fun, 'cause we'll be on the water and then everyone will be here to go with us." She smiled when her sister nodded and said, "What should we play until they get us?" She giggled when her sister shrugged again and said, "You're no help," with a wide smile on her face.

Finishing the tea last in the kitchen, Castle poured it out in the mugs that Beckett had set on the dining room table and he then told her, "I think we're ready."

Stepping out into the hall, Beckett couldn't help but laugh when she saw two heads duck back into the family room doorway and told him, "They're ready too. Come on Julia, Eliza you can eat now."

Trying not to outright run, Julia hurried with Eliza's hand in hers to their mother, who stepped aside so they could go into the room. "Ooh," she gasped when she saw the food on the table, some of it on the serving tray that was Martha's when she'd had parties at the beach house. "It almost looks like an English tea."

"What's missing?" Castle asked, looking everything over.

"That we're in England," Julia said in a matter of fact tone. She smiled when her parents laughed softly and said, "But it looks perfect Daddy, thank you."

"You're welcome," Castle said. "But thank your mom too since she helped me getting this set."

"Thank you Mommy," Julia said, Eliza echoing her quickly.

"You're welcome for now let's eat," Beckett said as they gathered around the table and she and Castle handed out the small sandwiches to the girls before getting their own.

"Did you get these from the tea place?" Julia asked after taking a bite of a tuna sandwich.

"I did, they have the best," Castle told her with a nod.

"Oh good, they're perfect," Julia said before eating again. "What about dessert?"

"It's a little early to be asking about that," Beckett said before taking a sip of her Earl Grey. "Do you like it sweetie?" she then directed to Eliza who was in between Castle and Julia, eating a bite of watercress sandwich. When the toddler nodded she smiled and said, "How do you like your tea?"

Taking a sip of what was milk; Eliza nodded again and said, "Good," before she was giggling as Castle was wiping off her chin.

"I imagine it is, your chin wanted to try it," he told her teasingly. He then kissed her cheek and went back to his food before saying, "So I heard you two talking about dinner tonight, you're that excited?"

"Yeah, why not?" Julia asked in slight surprise.

"Yeah, why Daddy?" Eliza said, pouting.

"We've been to _The Narrows_ so many times…" Castle began teasingly.

"It doesn't matter," Julia replied. "And we both can't wait to dress up a little." She then looked across the table at her mother and asked, "What are you gonna wear Mommy? The twirly skirt dress?"

Trying not to laugh at that name, Beckett replied, "I may, I need to see later though, much later. For now what do you want to do while Eliza's taking a nap?"

"Mommy-" the toddler started to say in protest.

"You need to sweetie," Beckett told her gently. "That way you won't fall asleep at dinner."

Watching as Castle urged Eliza to finish the sandwich in her hand, Julia said, "I don't know, what could we do?"

"We could read, play a game," Beckett suggested.

"Maybe play a video game," Castle added.

Frowning at that, Julia shook her head before she said, "Maybe we can play a game."

"We could," Beckett replied. "We'll see when we come back down." She then asked Eliza what she wanted to do when she woke up from her nap and was relieved when that seemed to help the toddler stop sulking.

Castle listened in amusement as Eliza talked eagerly about playing outside and looking over at Beckett he guessed that their youngest was going to be able to do that and the rest of the meal passed with Julia chiming in and talking in more detail about what they could play out there. When their plates were cleared he left, going to the kitchen to get their dessert though Beckett had teased the girls by saying they should probably both take naps.

"Oh, that's dessert?" Julia asked eagerly as she noticed him coming back into the room first with cupcakes on a plate.

Looking over, Beckett smiled when she saw they were mini-cupcakes decorated with daffodils in fondant and said, "Did you order those?"

"No, they had them there already," Castle replied as he gave them each one before sitting with his own. "It must have been fate."

Rolling her eyes though she was smiling, Beckett glanced over with him at the girls who were picking up the daffodil on their cupcakes and studying them intently. "Are you going to eat them?" she asked when they set them back down on their plate.

"After," Julia replied, looking to her sister who was biting down into her cupcake and getting the frosting on top all over her mouth. "Yeah, after," she said, smiling widely back at her parents.

The four ate the dessert in silence as it didn't take much time to finish the cupcakes and once they were done with the small cakes themselves, Castle and Beckett watched the girls eat the daffodils.

"Okay, time to clean up," Castle said, standing up once everything was finished from dessert. "Love you can take her and set her down for her nap."

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked in slight surprise as she looked up at him before standing herself.

"Just let me say goodnight to her," Castle said as he went to Eliza, getting her out of her high chair.

"I'll say it too Daddy," Julia told him hurriedly.

"Are you going to help me?" Castle asked. He was surprised when the little girl nodded, since he'd been kidding, but he nodded to that and set Eliza down so she could be hugged by her big sister.

"I won't play too much with them, we'll do more outside," Julia was promising the toddler when she pulled back.

"Kay," Eliza said, smiling. "Night."

"Night," Julia replied before their father was picking the toddler up.

"Sweet dreams Eliza, we'll see you soon," Castle told her. "Just get some rest and then we'll play okay?"

"Yeah," Eliza replied, nodding her head eagerly before she hugged him tightly around the neck. She shared a kiss with him before she leaned over to her mother, putting her arms about Beckett's neck as she took her.

When the two had left, Julia said with a smile to her father, "You know she wanted Mommy to tuck her in?"

"I also thought that she should have a chance to spend some alone time with Eliza," Castle said, stacking the plates. "Which is why I'm going to check my e-mail and you and your mom can play for a little alone."

Glancing up at him, Julia smiled and said, "We like to spend time with you too."

"Oh believe me when I say I know," Castle told her. "But just for a little. You don't want to?" When he saw the look that Julia was giving him he smiled and said, "You look just like your mom you know."

"Yes I want to play with Mommy but don't take too long to come back," Julia said, ending a little sternly as she picked up the utensils.

"Of course," Castle said simply before they took what they had over to the kitchen.

In Eliza's room, Beckett was pulling down the covers of the toddler's bed with one hand as she was still holding her in her other arm. Setting her down she said, "We'll all come and wake you up in a little bit," she told her before Eliza hugged her tightly. "So sweet dreams okay?"

Nodding Eliza said, "Come wake me too."

"We all will," Beckett promised her before sharing a kiss with her. She tucked her youngest in once the toddler was laying down and kissed her forehead tenderly before staying where she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She stroked Eliza's hair gently, watching her until she fell asleep.

"Hi Mommy," Julia said once she saw her mother coming down the stairs to her since she was waiting at the bottom of them. "Daddy went on his computer but he said we can start playing without him."

Smiling for a moment, Beckett knew then what her husband was doing but she was grateful to him for that and reminded herself to thank him later. She then turned her attention to her daughter and went with Julia to the family room, seeing she had the game Life set up. "You love playing this one," she said in amusement.

"I do, it's fun," Julia replied. "I was almost gonna put out Monopoly but that takes too long." As she sat down with her knees on a pillow and her mother sat on the couch she said to her, "How's Daddy going to play with us?"

"I think that was the idea," Beckett said in response, smiling that time outright.

"We did miss you," Julia said, understanding quickly what her mother meant by that.

"And I missed you both too," Beckett told her, reaching over to cup her cheek. When Julia squeezed her hand she said, "We should get started so we can finish before Eliza needs to get up."

"Okay," Julia said before she spun the spinner.

Sitting in the office, Castle could hear Beckett and Julia talking as they played and he smiled slightly before he finally gave up the pretense of trying to look at the e-mails he had. He got up and went to the doorway of the room, watching the two laughing as the little girl put a peg into her car. "You know that's the only time I'm going to let you get married before you're an adult," he said teasingly.

"That's okay," Julia replied, looking up at him. "I don't wanna get married yet anyways. You want to watch?"

"Don't mind if I do," Castle said, sitting with her before watching Beckett stopping to put a blue peg next to the pink peg in the front of her car. He looked on as the two went around the game board and helped Julia count her money and tiles when they had reached the end.

"I think you won this time sweetie, it helped you didn't have to pay for things for your daughter," Beckett said as she looked at the total Castle had come up with.

"Yeah," Julia said absently as she was gathering her tiles up and putting them away with Castle. "We can get Eliza up now right?"

"Right now," Beckett replied, looking at her watch as she let the two put the game away. Once Julia had set it back into the cabinet she led the way to the stairs and motioned Castle to go inside first when she stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

Glancing at her when he passed, Castle realized that she'd figured out what he'd been doing, not surprised that she had as he expected her to. He then turned his attention to Eliza who was still sleeping and he quickly took the net on the side off before he leaned down and kissed her forehead, hearing Julia running up to him. "Morning sweetheart," he said as the toddler's eyes opened. When she smiled at him he said, "How was your nap?"

"Good," Eliza said sleepily before rubbing her eye. She waved to her sister before she then saw her mother a little bit behind Castle. "Did you play?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was nice but I'm ready to play with you," Julia said. "Can we fly our kites today?"

"Just one," Beckett quickly said. "We're-"

"We're home," Martha suddenly called from the entry then.

"Oh, Gram!" Eliza said excitedly as she sat up hurriedly.

"Come here," Castle said with a slight laugh before he picked her up. He followed Beckett and Julia downstairs and saw that his father in law was with his mother and daughter as well. "So how was your lunch? Lunches I should say."

"Very enjoyable," Martha said before holding up a bag. "We bought our outfits for tonight, so successful as well."

"Can we see?" Julia asked then.

"When we're going to go," Martha promised.

"Then will you come and play with us Alexis?" Julia then said, switching her gaze to her big sister.

"After I get everything upstairs," the young woman replied before following her grandmother over to the stairs.

"And the game?" Beckett asked her father.

"He'll say at dinner," Julia said swiftly. "Right Grandpapa?"

"I will," Jim said, smiling at them. "For now I'll change and then join you outside."

When he'd gone up the stairs Beckett said to the girls, "Let's go ahead and get ready outside. You can fly both your kites now since we'll have help." She shared a smile with her husband at their daughters' cheering before they headed out to the backyard.

Watching Castle go down to the pool; their kites in the storage room there; Julia then turned to her mother and said, "How long can we play?"

"You want to go take that bath already?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"I don't," Eliza said quickly.

"Not yet," Beckett assured her. "You can play for about an hour," she then said in response to her oldest's question.

"Oh good," Julia said in satisfaction. "We can do more than fly kites. Hi 'lexis!" she called as she then saw her big sister coming out of the house with Martha and Jim. "You're gonna help us right?" she asked as the three reached them while Castle was coming back with two kites in hand.

"Why not?" Martha said. She stood with Beckett as Castle, Jim and Alexis were soon helping the girls get their kites ready to fly. "How was lunch?" she asked when the two different colored phoenixes were aloft.

"It wasn't too bad," Beckett replied with a smile. "But I'm sure they'll want to tell you all about it during dinner."

Smiling at that, Martha replied, "I wanted to make sure. But I should have known," before nodding to the girls who were watching their kites with smiles on their faces. "They seem to be very happy."

Beckett nodded in agreement to that and then went over to help Julia at her daughter's call of her name, putting her hands over the string holder's handles when she reached her. "Okay, let's bring it down," she told her.

"Ah! Down gently, don't dive bomb it towards me!" Castle protested before he heard the two laughing at his reaction as he'd run out of the way of the kite.

"Graceful love," Beckett called to him.

"Managed to get myself away from it still, so I call that a success," Castle shot back before he shared a smile with her. "Are you ready Julia?"

"Yeah, let it go again!" Julia called as her father held the kite up above him.

Eliza was watching as her grandfather threw her kite up before it began to float. She nearly started to jump up and down in pleasure before she remembered not to do that in time. She watched as the bird soared and felt Alexis behind her helping her let out more string as it went higher and higher. "Oooh, 'lexis look!" she said in slight dismay as it started to come back down.

"That's okay," Alexis assured her, kissing her cheek. "We can fly it up again right now."

The family flew the kites for another twenty minutes before Eliza started to get bored, letting the others fly hers. Finally she started to run around the trees at the edge of the backyard and cried, "Mommy, Daddy, gonna hide!"

"I guess that means we're done with the kites," Castle said in amusement as Julia handed the string holder to her grandfather and ran after her little sister.

"I'll take these, I'm sure they'll want you to join them," Jim told his son in law as he picked up both kites for him.

"Thanks," Castle said before he went after Beckett who was joining their daughters at the edge of the trees. "So how are we going to do this?" he asked the two who were looking at them expectantly. "Who'll be it first?"

When Julia and Eliza pointed straight at Castle at the same time Beckett commented, "I don't think you should have asked."

"I know, what a waste of breath," Castle said jokingly. "Okay, I'm going to close my eyes and count to ten."

Beckett urged Eliza over to the trees and to the hidden alcove some branches made before Julia took off to the trees more towards the house. She herself went after her youngest and once they were out of sight of the others she went up into one of the trees. From her vantage point she could hear and then see her husband yelling out the number one before he appeared below her. When she heard Eliza squeal and run off she smiled, peering through the branches to watch as the toddler made it to home, which was apparently her grandparents.

"Come on Julia… you don't let me find you then you won't get to go to dinner," Castle said teasingly to try and draw her out. He heard the rustle of branches behind him and he whirled around, trying to catch up to the little girl as she proceeded to run to Jim and Martha. He thought he might have been able to reach her but she managed to get to them in time. When he turned back to the trees he heard Eliza and Julia laughing and looking to them he saw that Alexis had joined them. "Was I supposed to find you too?" he asked her.

"Not anymore," the young woman replied with a smile.

Pretending to look frustrated; which set off the girls again; Castle went back to the trees then and looked around the hiding places he knew there were. Not seeing his wife though, he paused and suddenly jumped when she appeared next to him. "Were you hiding in a tree?" he said in surprise.

"Yep," Beckett replied with a smile. "But it looks like I'm it now," she replied before they looked over to the others. She wasn't surprised to find Alexis leading the girls down to the beach and looking at her husband told him, "Maybe not."

"No, I guess not," Castle replied in amusement. "Show me where you went," he then told her.

Beckett looked at him with another smile before she led him to the tree she had climbed, going up it until she was at the branch she'd been sitting on. When they were both settled on it she smiled and said, "They're going to look for us at some point."

"Still, a second doesn't hurt," Castle told her before he leaned over and kissed her deeply. Since they were sitting side by side they were in an odd position and the kiss didn't last that long. But when he pulled back he didn't go too far, pressing his lips against her a few more times in quick succession before they parted fully. Looking at the sky before he glanced at his phone, he suggested, "Should we start getting ready?"

"I think so," Beckett said before she followed him down to the ground. When they were both there she wasn't at all surprised when her husband grabbed her, pulling her to him. They kissed deeply, eventually becoming passionate before they had to part slowly to breathe. Sharing a smile with him she took his hand before they walked out to the grass and started calling their daughters to go.

* * *

"Mommy, we're gonna be late to go," Julia said in mock annoyance before she and Eliza; on top of their parents' bed; giggled together.

"You're lucky we don't exactly have a time to go," Beckett said as she came out from the bathroom them.

"Oh you did wear it!" Julia cried out in pleasure when she saw her.

"I did," Beckett said as she went around to them. "I thought it would be the best dress I had for tonight."

"Daddy's going to love it," Julia said as she watched Eliza touching the skirt of their mother's dress.

"You're right, he does," Castle said from the doorway. "I heard you calling love," he said to his wife then when she looked over at him.

"You just guessed I would want you here to see me do this," Beckett said wryly as she went to his nightstand where her mother's comb was. She waited for him to join her and then tucked it in front of the bun her hair was in, pressed against the back of her head. She closed her eyes when Castle suddenly leaned down and brushed his lips against her exposed shoulders. "So the girls were right," she simply commented as she turned to him.

"Definitely," Castle said with a nod as he watched her help Eliza down from the bed, her dress the one she'd worn her first Mother's Day with Julia. "But we're all ready to go right?" he asked the girls.

"Yeah, let's go," Julia said eagerly. She took her little sister's hand and then pulled her over to the door with their parents following. "Here we are, we're ready," she called as they went down to the entry where everyone was waiting.

"Wonderful, now you can tell us who you want to go with," Martha replied. "But before that you two look adorable."

"You too," Eliza said seriously as Martha hugged them both.

"Oh well, thank you," Castle's mother said, smiling at them.

"Can we go with Mommy and Daddy?" Julia asked, speaking for herself and her sister as she knew what Eliza wanted already.

"That'll be fine," Jim said, though she'd been asking them all. He hugged them and helped Eliza into her jacket as Alexis was helping Julia with hers. He picked up his youngest granddaughter and carried her to the garage, listening to her chattering excitedly about the view from the restaurant though he'd seen it before with her. "I'm excited too," he told her when she asked if he was. "But first we need to get there."

"Yeah, let's go," Eliza said as he leaned down to get her into her car seat. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before he buckled her in and said, "Thank you Grandpapa."

"You're welcome honey," Jim said before he squeezed Julia's hand on the other side of the back seat. "We'll see you there."

Waving, the little girl then watched the three get into the other car before her attention when to her parents. Julia exchanged a smile with her sister as their father helped their mother into the car but not before they kissed tenderly. She reached over to Eliza and took her hand as they were soon heading down the street.

Inside the restaurant the family met up in the entrance before being led to a larger table for the seven of them. After they figured out how they would sit so the girls would be able to see out the window to look at the water though it was nearly dark, they looked over the menus.

After they'd ordered their drinks and food, Castle said, "So you two should start."

"I think we should let Jim do that," Martha replied, not surprised when her granddaughter nodded in agreement next to her.

"I don't mind," Jim said when the girls looked eagerly across the table at him. "I didn't win but I was close, just one point away."

"That's good still," Julia replied.

"It is," Jim said. "Have you been to that course?" he directed to his son in law.

"Many times," Beckett answered for him. She smiled and said, "He and David play there for a charity event; them and the rest of the polo team."

"What did you think of your lunch?" Castle asked.

"I did enjoy it you were right," Jim agreed. He stopped then as the waitress brought their drinks and when Eliza asked him to keep saying his story he said, "There isn't too much else, I had a very good lunch and then I came home to you."

"I'd like to make a toast if I can," Castle then said when he'd finished talking. "To our family."

Beckett echoed his toast in a murmur before they tapped their glasses together and she reached over to him since he was sitting next to her, squeezing his free hand gently. His responding squeeze made her smile before they turned their attention to Martha and Alexis who were telling the girls about their shopping trip.

"Sounds like it was pretty successful," Castle commented when the two finished telling about their meal. "And a great lunch too."

"Daddy I'm hungry," Eliza said, sitting to his right.

"We'll eat soon," Castle said, running his hand over the back of her head.

"And that brings us to you two," Alexis said, smiling at her little sisters. "What about your lunch?"

"First we have to talk about the walk we went on with Macca," Julia said seriously. Before she could continue though their food arrived and she had to wait a little impatiently until they'd eaten a bit before she could go on. She talked about walking to the playground and there her sister helped her, talking about what they'd done together.

"And we had tea," Eliza said when they had reached the part when they'd started to eat in the dining room.

"It sounds like a very nice lunch," Jim said, smiling when both his granddaughters nodded their heads eagerly in agreement.

"And we had dessert-" Julia started to say.

"Hold on," Castle told her. "Don't give tonight's dessert away either."

"We're having that tonight too?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"We are, do you to mind?" Castle asked, looking at Eliza next to him and then Julia on the other side of her mother.

"No! I wanna eat those… again," Julia replied.

"Yeah, again," Eliza said before giggling.

"Keep eating," Beckett said to both girls. Once she was sure they were, her attention was called across the table by her father.

"So the girls told us about your decision to start Julia's book," Jim said.

Studying him for a moment, Castle looked at his wife and when she gave him a nod he sighed and said, "I'm assuming that means they told you about the argument we had."

"We all were told," Martha said. "Is it writer's block?"

"A little of that and stress," Castle said, glancing at Beckett when she reached for his hand again. He laced their fingers before saying, "A little break will help but I'm going to emphasize the word little because it'll be short."

"Rick-" Beckett started to say.

"We're nearly finished love," Castle interrupted her. "All we have to do is finish the final action scene, the reveal and then the Epilogue."

"Funny that you started putting those into your books," Alexis said, smiling since she teased him about that every once in a while.

"It works," Castle said simply. He then said, "Yeah but we're okay now if either of you is concerned about that," looking between his mother and daughter.

"I was as well," Jim said, clearing his throat slightly.

"You were?" Beckett asked, somewhat startled to hear that.

"Of course, I want you to be happy Katie," Jim said simply. "So I'm glad to hear that you were able to work things out."

"Me too," Julia said.

"And me," Eliza added quickly.

"I'm not surprised," Castle said, leaning over and kissing Eliza's temple. "But Kate I think we should give finishing the book in May a shot."

"We kind of need to don't we?" Beckett asked. At his nod she looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "You're right, we have our trip coming up in June so… we'll try."

"Might I suggest a lighter writing schedule?" Martha said.

"I was thinking of doing that," Beckett said with a nod and a smile. "So we'll see next month after we're finished with Spring Break."

When Eliza gave a muffled squeal, she giggled when she saw her family were all looking to her and she said, "I wanna go now."

"We're almost there," Beckett assured her.

Going back to the meal the conversation went through a few different subjects until they had finished. But even then they didn't leave until their drinks were done and they finally agreed to go when it became obvious Eliza was getting fidgety. They split up and headed home, gathering again in the family room after Castle and the girls came back from feeding Macca; the Wolfhound with them.

"So are we playing something?" Castle asked before the girls suddenly pulled on his hands at the same time. "Hold on," he said, laughing with the others at that. "I know you want dessert but we need to wait a little bit longer. Let's play a short game first and then get it for them okay?"

"Nicely done," Beckett told him teasingly as he sat down next to her.

Castle shrugged and when the girls came back from the games cabinet with Alexis he said, "Not too surprised you got that one," as Julia was carrying Eliza's fishing game.

"Will you play with us Grandpapa?" the toddler said, going to him and taking his hand with both of hers.

"Of course," Jim replied, leaning over and kissing the top of her head to her giggle.

Watching as the four started to try and catch the fish Martha said, "I'm wondering if one night next week I might take my granddaughters to dinner by myself."

"That's fine," Beckett replied. "Dad-"

"Martha and I spoke about that before," Jim interrupted, speaking a little absently as he was playing. "And we would each like a night with our granddaughters."

"Would Alexis go with us when we go with you?" Julia asked, glancing at her big sister who was next to her.

"Of course," Jim replied. "If she can though, I won't know your schedule," he said to the young woman.

"I should be okay," Alexis said. "But I'll see how things go once I go back."

"Speaking of school-" Castle said then as they were having Eliza count the fish the four had gotten.

"I talked to the dean and got a leave of absence for this," Alexis said quickly. "She understood why I needed to come here…"

"Good, the last thing I need is to hear you're in trouble for that," Castle breathed out. "You're going to play again?" he asked in amusement when he watched the girls putting the fish back in their spots.

"Yeah," Eliza said eagerly.

Waiting until the game had started; Castle reached over to his wife's hand and took it before he got up. Together they walked to the kitchen and as she got the rest of the cupcakes out on a plate he got some coffee and milk. "Tonight was nice," he said, turning to her.

"I know," Beckett said, smiling at him as at that point he was running his hand over the small of her back. "Easy Rick," she said.

"Just…" Castle began to say before trailing off and leaning down to her. When their lips met he felt her turning towards him and he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, holding her close. When they parted to breathe he pressed his forehead to hers and murmured, "Love you."

Smiling at that, Beckett said, "I love you too Rick," trying not to shiver as their lips brushed together as they'd spoken. She took his next kiss, not too surprised when it was far deeper than the one before. She would have gladly gone on with that for much longer but the sound of the coffee finishing made them break apart and she sighed as she watched him go over to the machine, quickly pouring out the liquid into mugs.

"Dessert! Look Gram, Grandpapa!" Eliza said eagerly as she was at the coffee table by herself; her sisters getting another game.

"That is beautiful," Martha said, seeing the cupcakes and the fondant flowers on them. "You said you got these for lunch?"

"Lunch and dinner," Castle replied before sitting with Beckett on the couch. They watched the girls telling the others about the daffodils and he said, "So this time you're just going to look at them right? I can put them back in the fridge and we'll eat them later?"

Glaring jokingly at him, Julia took a bite of her cupcake and laughed when she felt the frosting on the tip of her nose. "I can do it," she said as Alexis started to try and clean her. She glanced over at their sister and saw that Eliza was humming as she ate her first bite.

"So you two decided on this one?" Beckett asked, as the game was Julia's old Kerplunk.

"She can play it right?" Julia said in slight anxiety as her sister had told her Beckett might not approve of it.

"As long as you watch that she doesn't eat the marbles," Castle told her.

"I'll watch," Eliza said before she nodded.

"No, someone has to watch you," Beckett told her with a slight laugh.

"Oh, kay," Eliza said before she giggled. She ate her daffodils last and then finished her milk before getting up, going around to her mother.

"You want to play with me?" Beckett asked as she took her onto her lap. At the nod of her head she leaned over and pressed her lips against the side of her head saying, "Watch how I do it okay?" since by then Alexis and Julia were setting up the game.

Looking closely Eliza smiled as her mother took a stick out of the middle of the plastic tower and asked, "Is that what you do?"

"Mmm-hmm, remember the marbles can't fall," Beckett said.

"And the marbles also don't go in your mouth," Castle said, tickling her side.

Laughing loudly Eliza said, "I know Daddy." She shared a kiss with him then when he leaned over to her and said, "Can I do it now?"

"Hold on, everyone else has to go," Beckett said.

Trying not to squirm in her impatience; but unable to keep from doing so; Eliza then reached out to the ends of the sticks and she said in a loud whisper, "This one Mommy?"

"That's a good one," Beckett replied with a nod, kissing her temple. "Be careful… there great job," she said when the toddler had managed to pull out the stick without letting the marbles fall.

When one of them finally did make them fall; during Alexis' turn; Eliza squealed in dismay but from then on they all managed to make them fall until Castle pulled one stick out and the rest dropped.

"I always manage to lose on this one," he said as Julia and Alexis picked up the game. Turning to his wife Castle asked, "Does she need to go to bed?" When Beckett shook her head he looked at her in surprise before she sat against the back of the couch, holding their youngest close to her. He smiled at her and leaned over, kissing the top of Eliza's head before he gave Beckett a quick peck on the lips. "Do you mind playing with me?" he asked the two who were coming back with the game Clue.

"And Grandpapa and Gram?" Julia suggested, seeing the way her mother was sitting and knowing what she was going to do since it wasn't the first time she'd allowed Eliza to stay with them like that.

"Yes, we'll play and then head to bed because we have a number of plans tomorrow," Martha replied as the others set up the game in front of her.

Feeling Eliza leaning against her, Beckett looked on as they played the game not saying anything as she soon felt the toddler slumping on her. She shook her head when Castle looked to her and saw their daughter was asleep, knowing his expression was asking if she wanted to take her up to bed.

When Julia managed to guess the right items to solve the case, Castle said to his father in law and mother quietly, "Mind if we leave this for you to-"

"We'll help," Julia said quickly. She jumped up then and went to where Beckett was sitting up, kissing her sister's temple before Alexis did the same next to her.

"Thank you," Castle said, squeezing their hands before Jim and Martha came to kiss Eliza goodnight. When they'd done that he picked the toddler up from her mother's lap, pausing to make sure that she stayed asleep before he walked over to the stairs with his wife.

Without a word between them, the two went straight to Eliza's room, changing her into her pajamas before Castle was leaning down over her first.

"Love you sweetheart," he murmured, kissing her forehead.

Tucking in Eliza after he'd stepped aside, Beckett pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and whispered, "I love you too sweetie, goodnight." She stood next to the bed for a moment before she felt Castle's arm wrapping around her waist. They left, closing the door behind them before joining the others in the kitchen where they discovered they'd moved to. "Did we take long?" she asked in surprise as Alexis was rinsing out the cups and mugs.

"No we just finished faster with the four of us helping," the young woman said.

"She's right and do I need…" Julia started to ask before both her parents looked at her. She sighed as she had her answer and went over to her grandfather first. "Night Grandpapa, I can't wait for tomorrow. Love you."

"Me too," Jim assured her, sharing a kiss with her. "And I love you too honey."

"And I'll agree with you both," Martha said. "I can't wait to see how things will go. Also I love you darling."

"Love you Gram," Julia replied, a wide smile on her face before sharing a kiss with her as well. She then went to Alexis and hugged her tightly saying, "I love you 'lexis."

"Love you too Jules," the young woman replied before leaning down to kiss her goodnight. "Sweet dreams."

Waving at them, Julia took her mother's hand before they walked over to the stairs with Castle. She squeezed Beckett's hand while they waited for him to open the door to Eliza's room and was led inside her own room by her. She changed quickly while her parents were waiting at the bed and took the band holding her bangs in a braid off.

"I ended up doing your hair in the end you know," Beckett told her daughter with a smile as she loosened the braids and then started to brush out her hair.

"Yeah I'm glad you did, it looked really pretty," Julia agreed. She then smiled at her father who was sitting on the edge of the bed in front of her and said, "But Mommy was the best looking wasn't she?"

"Oh, I can't say which one of you was prettiest," Castle said. "But she was beautiful, yes. What?" he said quickly when his wife looked over at him. "I'm not going to lie; not when you're wearing that dress. You would have known I was lying."

Sighing, though not having any kind of exasperation to it, Beckett finished with Julia's hair and handed it to her so she could put it back in the bedroom. "Rick…" she started to say quickly. But before she could continue their daughter was coming back to them.

"Is something the matter?" Julia asked, seeing the slightly troubled look on her mother's face.

"No," Beckett said. "I think I forgot about something but I didn't, come on you need to go to bed."

"Thanks for letting me stay up later," Julia said as she got up on the bed.

"You're welcome but why did we?" Castle asked, pretending to be serious.

"Daddy," Julia said, mock whining as she wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"We wanted to let you spend more time with us," Castle answered his own question. "But for now sweet dreams Julia, I love you."

"Love you too Daddy," the little girl replied with a smile. She shared a kiss with him and said, "I know what you meant when you said your toast."

"I think everyone did," Castle said.

"Yeah and I'm glad you're both safe too," Julia said, kissing his cheek before she sat down and he covered her legs.

"We are too," Beckett said with a smile. She kissed her oldest on the forehead before she felt Julia's arms around her neck. "I love you sweetie," she told her, pressing her cheek to hers.

"I love you too Mommy," Julia said, pressing close to her. When she pulled away she shared a kiss with her mother before lying down. She sighed as she was tucked in and she watched her parents going to the doorway before Castle turned off the light and they paused to watch her for a moment before they left.

Going hand in hand to their room, Castle and Beckett didn't say a word as they went inside until the door was closed behind them; he started the fire and then turned to her.

"What were you going to say earlier?" Castle asked, remembering when they'd been in Julia's room.

"I'm a little tired," Beckett said honestly.

"I wasn't planning on that tonight," Castle said with a shrug as he could tell his wife was slightly concerned. "It was up to us both what we both wanted."

"You wore me out last night," Beckett said with a slight smirk on her face.

"And this morning too," Castle said, walking up to her. He wasn't surprised when she pushed him on the shoulder and laughing he reached up to take her hand, kissing the palm. "So we'll get some rest?"

"With our plans for tomorrow I think we need to," Beckett said before wrapping her arms around his neck. She was a little startled when he laughed suddenly and she pulled back slightly to look at him questioningly.

"Sorry, this is the dress she was calling-" Castle startled to ask.

"It is," Beckett cut him off. She smiled and said, "Julia thinks I should spin in this dress, that the skirt is perfect for it."

"It is," Castle said, looking down at her. He then brought his gaze back up, leaning down and kissing up the side of her neck until he had reached her ear lobe. "I wasn't kidding earlier," he told her. He was a little startled when she stepped away from him then and watched her reach up to take her comb from her bun before she gave it to him.

With a full smirk on her face then Beckett took out the pins holding up her hair, not surprised when his gaze was locked on her tresses as they soon tumbled down past her shoulders. "Every time," she said before turning around.

"You expect me not to do that?" Castle asked rhetorically before he kissed the back of her right shoulder when he'd moved her hair out of the way. That done, he unzipped her dress and let himself run his fingertips over her back before watching her go to the closet.

Beckett didn't say anything to that question and instead focused on getting changed into her pajamas, glancing over at her husband when she had finished. "I'm thinking of our possible nights alone together in the city," she told him.

"You want to go somewhere?" Castle asked as they walked to their bed. Before he could get onto it he detoured to the door and opened it since they were going to sleep.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said hesitantly, standing next to her side of the bed as she waited for him to come back to her. When he looked at her questioningly she smiled and said, "We could stay in one night."

"We could," Castle replied, his hand on the small of her back then. "I could cook for us; we could watch a movie… play some chess."

"You're thinking of a game of strip poker aren't you?" Beckett asked him wryly.

"We can do that later," Castle said. He saw the look on his wife's face and laughed before he cupped her cheek and leaned down, kissing her tenderly on the lips. When they parted, he stared into her eyes, all trace of his mirth disappeared. " _Love_ …" he murmured before he took her in another kiss, that one far rougher.

Beckett responded to him enthusiastically then before they were parting abruptly, both of them breathing heavily. She smiled before she watched him sitting down saying, "You're clinging to me," a little teasingly but mostly serious.

"Does that bother you?" Castle asked as he took her hand.

"No," Beckett said softly before sitting on his lap as he pulled her to him. She put her arms around his neck and said, "I've been doing the same."

"Yeah, last night you did," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when she didn't reply to that, instead simply leaned down and kissed him hard. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as they were carefully dueling with their tongues inside of her mouth. When they'd been kissing for quite a while he moved back and went down to her neck, pressing his lips gently up from her pulse until he was at her ear.

Smiling as she felt her husband come over to her lips again Beckett let him instigate that kiss. She stroked the back of his head gently until they were parting and she turned her head to the side as he proceeded to trail his lips over her jaw.

Castle couldn't keep away from her for long, capturing her lips before they were dueling with one another again. He held her tightly to him, not stopping until she broke off the kiss and suddenly gasped. "You… you guys are taking ninja lessons from your gram aren't you?" he asked as he saw the girls were in front of them.

Beckett was about to laugh at that as Julia and Eliza looked confused before she took a closer look at them and lost all desire to laugh. "Let me go Rick," she said quickly. As soon as he'd done so she was going to their youngest, picking her up and saying, "Sweetie, did you have a nightmare?"

"Uh-huh," Eliza said, nodding her head and trying not to cry again.

"It's okay," Castle said, seeing what his wife had, that the toddler's eyes were red from tears. He stroked her hair and then put his hand on the back of Julia's head as she pressed against him. "It was just a dream, not real okay?"

"He's right," Beckett said soothingly. "Do you want to tell us what you saw?"

Eliza was going to say but then shook her head, pointing down to her sister.

"She saw you and Daddy disappearing in the water," Julia told them, since her sister had come to her telling her about the nightmare before she'd brought her to their parents' room.

"It was dark," Eliza whispered.

"Oh sweetie," Beckett said with a sigh, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. There was a part of her that was relieved it wasn't a nightmare concerning what had happened at the school but knew it was what was scaring the toddler, just manifesting in a different way. "There's nothing to be afraid of with the water. You know your daddy and I are very, very careful when we swim."

"Yeah, Julia said that," Eliza replied. She then felt her mother moving and looked to see that she was getting onto the bed. "I can sleep with you?"

"Mmm-hmm, both of you can," Beckett told her, kissing her temple. She smiled when she saw the slight surprise on Castle's face and told him, "Just for tonight."

"Sure," he said quickly, making sure Julia could get up on her own. He then hurried around the bed, relieved when Eliza smiled at seeing him running, and almost jumped onto the other side before pulling the covers over them all. He leaned over towards the other two; Eliza on her mother's lap; and said, "This is nice; we haven't done this for a while have we?"

"A long time," Julia said, reaching up and patting his cheek. She smiled when he kissed her palm loudly and said, "She was scared."

"She's okay now," Beckett said, rubbing the toddler's back as she leaned against her. "Want to sleep?" she asked.

"No," Eliza said shortly. She felt a hand on the back of her head and reached up to grab it before her father could pull it away. She let him take her before she cuddled against his chest and said, "Love you Daddy."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle murmured to her, kissing the top of her head. "You're safe now, with us, with your family here."

"And when it's just us Mommy and Daddy are here," Julia pointed out. She then paused and said, "That's why she's having the nightmares."

"Alexis would be proud of you," Castle said. "That's right, she's afraid of us being gone again."

"Eliza," Beckett said, leaning over Julia a little to be able to stroke her hair. "You'll always be safe and your daddy and I will try to be here to make sure. But you also have your grandparents and sisters too because we all love you." She smiled when the toddler giggled a little, looking shy, and she leaned over, kissing her forehead.

"Feel better?" Castle asked as Julia leaned up after their mother and kissed Eliza's cheek. At the toddler's nod he said, "Okay, then time for some sleep," trying to pick her up to put her in between him and Beckett. When she squealed out a no he laughed and said, "I guess not."

"No he's right you need to," Beckett said, motioning for him to give her their daughter. She shared a kiss with her and told her, "I love you Eliza."

"Love you Mommy, Daddy," the toddler replied quickly. As her mother was setting her down next to her she said, "And you too Jules."

"I love you too Lizzy," Julia said with a smile as their parents were laying down after turning off the lights on their nightstands.

"Okay, go to sleep girls," Beckett said, making sure the covers were secure over them as she lay on her side.

"I am not sleepy," Eliza said in protest.

"Then you'll be too tired to go out tomorrow for our walk," Castle told her.

"Can we go now?" Eliza asked.

"It's too dark, we wouldn't be able to take pictures," Julia pointed out to her.

"Oh does everyone go?" the toddler then said.

"They are," Beckett said. "Your gram wants to walk with you a little at the start."

"Kay," Eliza said, wriggling a little under the covers. When she stopped she then yawned and said, "And after?"

"We're going to head downtown for lunch and then to the ceramic studio," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when the toddler squealed in joy hearing that and said, "Your sister wanted to go there especially. And after they were reminded about it, so did your grandparents."

"I can't wait for that," Julia said with a wide smile on her face. "I wanna paint a plate this time." She then glanced over at her mother and though she couldn't see her yet asked, "Can I paint it for Grandpapa?"

"Of course," Beckett said, reaching over and smoothing her hair. "I forgot to kiss you goodnight again," she then said in remembrance. She got up and leaned over, sharing a kiss before she leaned over slightly more to reach her husband.

"Mommy, you are squishing me," Eliza giggled.

"Sorry, I had to kiss your daddy too," Beckett apologized before kissing her on the cheek. When they were settled she said, "Go to sleep girls, the sooner you do the sooner we get to tomorrow."

"She's right," Julia said, knowing her sister was looking at her. "Night Lizzy, Mommy, Daddy."

"Night Jules, Mommy, Daddy," Eliza replied.

Murmuring goodnight to their daughters, Castle and Beckett kept quiet until they were sure the two were asleep.

Castle pushed himself carefully, not surprised to find his wife doing the same on the other side of the bed before they met in a kiss. He gently slipped his tongue in her mouth where they caressed each other a few times before they slowly parted. "I love you Kate," he murmured to her as quietly as he could.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett replied in the same tone before they kissed again, gently, before they both lay down.

With their daughters' soft breathing reaching them once they were settled down again, Castle and Beckett smiled at one another in the darkness over Julia's and Eliza's heads. They reached towards each other and after squeezing hands they closed their eyes. After they soon fell asleep, the contentment of their daughters lending a tranquil atmosphere to the room that helped them all sleep peacefully together through the rest of the night.


	17. Epilogue- This Love Of Ours, It Has No End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song I Don't Want to Do It written by Bob Dylan and sung by George Harrison, from George's album Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison.

Feeling lips brushing across his, Castle's eyes fluttered open before they focused on his wife who was in front of him. He saw that she was smiling and clearing his throat said, "Good morning."

"Morning," Beckett told him before leaning over and kissing him. "Happy Birthday," she said when she had pulled away.

When he remembered the day at that point, Castle smiled and said, "Is that my first gift? My wakeup call?"

Rolling her eyes, Beckett leaned over and kissed him harder, slipping her tongue into his mouth before they carefully started to duel until they needed to breathe. She pressed her forehead against his and said, "I was debating on getting you breakfast in bed but I think we should-"

"Include the girls?" Castle asked her with a grin. When she nodded he said, "That's a great idea, let me get up," since she was lying on top of his chest.

"Hold on," Beckett said in amusement. "I'm surprised at you, wanting me to leave already."

"Well, I thought you wanted to go," Castle explained as he stroked her hair carefully, running his fingers through it. He wasn't surprised when she leaned down, closing the gap between the two of them before their lips met. When she kissed him gently he was a little startled but with that he got what she was telling him without saying a word and he followed her lead until they parted to breathe again.

Sharing a few more kisses in the same manner with him, Beckett slowly pulled away and said, "Now we should get up."

"You're tempted though," Castle told her, pretending to be serious. "To give me a little something for my birthday."

Since they were both sitting up then, Beckett gave him a look before that turned into a smirk and she told him, "What makes you think I don't have something up my sleeve for tonight?"

Castle started to open his mouth and then said, "We will be alone… I'm looking forward to that."

"I thought you would be," Beckett said, still smirking. She leaned over and kissed him briefly before saying, "Let's go." And with that they got up, putting on their robes before leaving the bedroom and going up to Alexis' room where the girls were sharing the bed with their big sister during their week in the city.

"Morning," the young woman herself said as she stepped out from the bathroom. She kept her voice quiet as her sisters were still sleeping and before her father could go to the bed she rushed to him, hugging him tightly saying, "Happy Birthday, Dad."

"Thanks kiddo," Castle said, hugging her back. "You're going to stick around for breakfast right?"

"Rick," Beckett said, smiling over at him as she knew he was teasing his daughter.

Going over to the bed then, Castle leaned down; as his wife was waiting for him to do that; and kissed the foreheads of both girls before they started to squirm in response.

"Daddy," Julia said with a wide smile.

"Morning sweetheart," Castle said. He ran his hand over Eliza's forehead and said, "Wake up Eliza, you've got a big day today."

Smiling as the toddler was opening her eyes to that, Beckett said wryly, "I wonder if she heard that."

"Most likely," Castle said confidently before he saw that their youngest was looking back in between them both. "Okay, so now we're all awake, Happy Birthday Eliza, Julia."

"My birthday?" Eliza asked with a slight gasp before sitting up in a rush.

"It is," Beckett said, going over to them then and kissing them both gently. "Happy Birthday Eliza, Julia."

"Did you say that to Daddy?" Julia asked quickly as Castle picked up her little sister.

"She woke me up with a kiss and then said it," he told them, answering for his wife before the girls smiled at their mother.

"Good morning everyone," Martha said, coming to the doorway then. "And Happy Birthday Richard, Eliza and Julia."

Smiling as her father and sister thanked her for that, Julia said, "Thanks Gram, but you don't have to tell me that too."

"Oh don't be silly darling," Martha said, going to her as she got down from the bed. Hugging her she said, "Your father and sister want to share today with you and since we had a small celebration the seventeenth you should join them."

Glancing over at her father and sister, Julia smiled when she saw that Eliza was nodding her head rapidly and she said, "Okay but only if it's alright with them."

Nodding his head once as he'd seen his youngest was doing so herself, Castle said, "Your mom has an idea for a special breakfast for us."

"What Mommy? What?" Eliza asked eagerly as she was handed to Alexis who carried her downstairs.

"A picnic breakfast," Beckett said, looking at Castle as she spoke.

"Wonderful idea," Martha told her. "Alexis and I-"

"And Rick," Beckett said as she leaned over to kiss Eliza's cheek. When she saw her husband was looking at her she told him, "I'll make it today."

"Okay," Castle said, able to tell his wife was set on doing that by the expression on her face. He watched her go to the fridge and start pulling out a few items before he forced himself to turn his attention to Julia who had taken his hand. "So what do we want to do now? The three birthday… people."

"Were you going to say birthday girl Dad?" Alexis asked, humor in her tone.

"Nearly," Castle said with a nod. "And I think I just got an idea, we can set up the blanket and the utensils so we eat quicker-"

"Not surprised you thought of that love," Beckett told him teasingly as she could hear them.

"Well just so we can go to the museum and park faster," Castle said defensively though he was only kidding. "But what do you think?"

"I wanna help the blanket," Eliza said, hurrying to him after Martha had set her down.

"We'll go ahead and do that, can you get the forks?" Castle asked Julia, running his hand over her hair.

"Sure," the little girl said before she went to the kitchen. She paused in getting the utensils out, watching Beckett whisking some eggs in a bowl. "Whatcha making Mommy?" she asked with a smile as she leaned against her.

"Some omelets," Beckett said, deciding then. "So you'll need to come and order them," she called before she heard Eliza giggle. She turned to Julia then when the little girl hugged her tightly around the waist and she was quick to return it before leaning down, sharing a kiss with her. She watched her oldest going to the drawer and then getting napkins before joining the others in the middle of the family room where Castle had rolled up the rug to place a large plaid blanket for the meal. She smiled as Eliza sat with her knees on the edge of it and had to amaze at the fact that hers and Castle's youngest was three.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked, coming over to her daughter in law then to get some orange juice in a pitcher.

"I'm fine, just thinking," Beckett said, smiling at her before turning to the stove. "Do you want to order what you want on your omelet now?"

"Of course," Martha replied before going to stand next to her. After telling her, she then said, "I did the same thing with Richard you know. Amazing at the fact my son was growing up as I watched."

"It's hard not to," Beckett said in agreement, not surprised that her mother in law concurred. "But I'm very proud of them."

"Of me too?" Eliza asked, coming over to them then.

"I was talking about you and your sister," Beckett answered as she was folding Martha's omelet. She smiled as she finished the dish, feeling Eliza's arms wrapping around her waist and said, "Now tell me what you want on yours."

With everything finished that could be done on the blanket, Castle led Julia over to the kitchen, helping her up on one of the chairs on the other side of the island. Since their omelets were last he waited for the little girl to tell her mother what she wanted on hers before he did the same. Since Alexis was standing with Eliza in her arms next to Julia, he went around to his wife and said, "Sure you don't want my help?"

"Very, since I'm almost finished," Beckett replied. She smiled when he leaned down to her and started to press his cheek against hers saying, "Our daughters can see us."

"We're not looking!" Julia exclaimed quickly.

"No we don't," Eliza said.

Though he was tempted to correct her, Castle refrained and pressed a gentle kiss on Beckett's cheek murmuring, " _When I can I'll do better_."

" _I'll hold you to that_ ," Beckett replied with a smirk as she glanced back at him.

"Awesome," Castle replied, gently squeezing his wife's hips before he went to the counter and leaned against it. "What do you want to do when we get to the park?" he asked the girls; including Alexis though he knew she'd wait to let her sisters answer.

"Horsies!" Eliza cried out enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I wanna go on the carousel too," Julia replied.

"You know you're lucky," Beckett said as she put her omelet on the last plate. "It opens today."

"Does that mean there's going to be a lot of people?" Julia asked with a slight frown.

"It might but we'll need to wait and see," Castle said as he helped Beckett take some of the plates and Alexis joined them.

Sitting down around the blankets, the family started to eat before Eliza spoke up saying, "Can we go play too?"

"We will, we're planning on meeting your aunts and uncles," Beckett said.

"Will Tommy be there?" Julia asked.

"Most likely," Castle said. "It'll be interesting to see him we haven't for a while."

"Is he growed up?" Eliza asked.

"No, he'll still be younger than you," Beckett replied as she knew what the toddler was thinking. "How do you like your breakfast?"

"It's good Mommy," Julia said firmly. "And nice that we're eating it here."

"Yeah," Eliza agreed with a slight giggle before she took her cup her mother was handing her. She took a sip before she then said, "And we can play with him?"

"If they stay for a while," Castle told her with a slight nod. "But just like the carousel we'll have to wait and see."

"What about tonight?" Julia asked then.

"What about it?" Martha asked.

Smiling, the little girl said, "No, Mommy and Daddy, I know what we're gonna do already."

"Speaking of that, what will you do?" Castle asked them, as Jim, his mother and Alexis were taking the girls back to the Hamptons that night for their weeklong stay with them.

"Didn't you tell them already?" Martha asked in surprise.

"No, we waited to make sure what we were going to do," Julia replied matter of factly. "But now we know. When we get home we're gonna go to the restaurant in Southampton."

"You'll be able to dress up," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of Julia's hair with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but we didn't ask to do that," the little girl told her. "Gram and Grandpapa said we could go there."

"You two went to a lot of dinners this week," Castle commented.

"One last one," Martha said. "They're going back to school next week so-"

"Tomorrow we might take the family out," Castle interrupted her.

"Or we could cook," Beckett said, though she was a bit hesitant with her tone.

"You two might be tired," Martha pointed out to them.

"We'd have to see," Castle said. "When are we going home love?" he asked his wife.

"I have no clue, it depends on tomorrow morning," Beckett said with a shrug. "But we should get back home in time before noon, or at it."

"There's no need to rush," Martha replied.

"They'll want to get back to the girls Gram," Alexis said with a smile.

"True," Castle's mother said with a slight nod. "Well so you know there's no need to rush coming home."

"That's good to know," Castle replied. "We'll be home though," he said, directing that to Eliza who was watching them with slightly wide eyes. "Did you think we'd stay here?"

Shaking her head, the toddler said, "I know you come home. It is home."

Reaching over to her, Castle pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head saying, "You're very smart, just like your mother."

"Thank you," Beckett said, having been leaning over to kiss their youngest on the lips. She did that quickly and then sat up, looking at her husband to say, "I do have gifts for you."

"I'm not angling for that," Castle assured her before he leaned over and they kissed each other gently on the lips. Parting he said, "We should get up though…"

Glancing around and seeing that they were all finished with breakfast, Beckett leaned over and kissed him briefly before they all got up. As she and Castle were cleaning the dishes she glanced at her husband and leaned against him slightly since they were alone; their daughters and his mother upstairs changing. "This has been a fun vacation," she told him in a soft voice.

"It has," Castle agreed with her wholeheartedly. "I can't help remembering Wednesday night, can you?" he asked her as he pressed his forehead against her.

"No but we should focus on today," Beckett said teasingly.

"Just a little more?" Castle asked pleadingly. When she smiled at him he couldn't help himself and closed the gap between them, kissing her tenderly. Before he could stop he was deepening it as their tongues brushed together in her mouth. He did that a few times before slowly pulling back and looking into her eyes intently. "Maybe I'm looking forward to tonight more," he murmured to her as they seemed frozen in place.

"I think I am too," Beckett said, biting at her lower lip a few times. She stopped when he leaned back into her and she wrapped her arms around him as she pressed her fingers into his shoulders.

Jerking slightly and ending the kiss, Castle said, "Sorry, your hands are still wet."

"And yours are too," Beckett told him with a slight smile before pulling back. " _Tonight_?"

" _Tonight_ Kate," Castle told her seriously before they kissed one last time, swiftly before parting and finishing the dishes left.

As they were doing so, Beckett was thinking of the night she and Castle had had to themselves, her father and Martha having taken the three girls to dinner. She dried her hands with her husband and then walked to their room, remembering when they'd been there together making their dinner.

* * *

_"Taste this sauce love," Castle told Beckett as he held a spoon up to her while she walked up to him. "More salt?"_

_"Slightly," Beckett said with a nod after she'd tasted it. She smiled when he ran his thumb over her lower lip and said, "The sauce?"_

_"Oh, right," Castle said, shaking his gaze from her then and moving to the pot of sauce for his Alfredo. "You think they'll enjoy the play," he commented as she went back to the salad she'd begun before she had to answer a call from Lanie._

_"Of course," Beckett replied simply. When she felt her husband's hands go around her waist she smiled at him and said, "The dinner?"_

_"It's fine for now," Castle told her before he leaned down and kissed at the side of her exposed neck since her hair was up in a ponytail._

_"I guess it is," Beckett said putting the last of the tomatoes with the lettuce and drying off her hands in a hurry before she turned around to wrap her arms around his neck. She was prepared for the kiss but still managed to take a moment to respond before she slid her hands up the back of his head._

_Turning his head to the side slightly, Castle felt her tongue carefully coming up to meet his as he slid it past her lips. When they soon parted to breathe he saw her eyes slower to open and he said, "I still do that to you?"_

_Giving him a slight look, Beckett replied, "It does the same to you too."_

_"Of course it does," Castle said with a nod. He glanced over to the pots on the stove and sighed slightly before he reluctantly let her go to rush to get the sauce off the burner. "We're ready," he said as he put it into the pot containing the pasta and mixed it together._

_Helping him get everything to the table by the windows, Beckett looked at her glass of wine that he poured out for her, watching the lights shine on it before setting it down. "I was a little surprised you didn't want to push the plans for Le Circe a little ahead," she told him once he was sitting with her across the table._

_"I thought about doing that but I think I prefer this, the last few days have been hectic it's nice to slow down a little," Castle replied after thinking for a moment._

_Starting on her food, Beckett waited a few seconds before she said, "Despite the fact that you needed to cook?"_

_"Despite that," Castle replied with a short nod, smiling at her. "Before you drink," he then said, holding his cup up to hers when she had picked it up._

_Smiling as they tapped them together Beckett asked, "What's that for?"_

_"Us," Castle said simply, holding her gaze before they each took a sip._

_Beckett wanted to comment on that but found that words were basically useless and she kept silent with him for a little longer. Finally she spoke, saying, "You'll be okay with them tomorrow?"_

_"Of course," Castle replied, since he was supposed to be taking the girls to the botanical gardens in Central Park the next day. "I'm just wondering if I should take them somewhere else until you can meet us."_

_"I've been to the garden a number of times before," Beckett said gently; since they'd talked about that same thing quite a few times while planning that week. "And I'll meet you before you go to the zoo. The girls don't mind you taking them alone," she reminded him._

_"I wonder why Mother didn't cancel the class tomorrow," Castle mused._

_"Rick, she does want you to spend time with Julia and Eliza on your own too," Beckett replied._

_"Are you all worried about me having a good relationship-" Castle asked though he wasn't quite serious._

_"No," Beckett was quick to interrupt him. "We just want you to have the same time with them that I do. And they asked me if they could do that, since they know I'm meeting Lanie at the spa."_

_"I'm glad they want me to take them," Castle said quickly. "One thing though, how is she off to go to the spa in the morning?"_

_"She's having a half day," Beckett replied. "The other ME is taking a double shift; he's getting married and wants to make some extra money for a house in Scarsdale."_

_"That would make sense," Castle replied. "What will you be doing there?"_

_"There no need to say," Beckett said. She smiled when he glanced at her and said, "The usual."_

_Pausing in chewing his bite of salad, Castle was quick to continue after a moment and once he swallowed said, "You'll smell like roses then."_

_"More than likely," Beckett said, wanting to comment on his slight British accent when he'd said that._

_"Dear god Kate, what you've done to me…" Castle said, taking her hand that was on the table and squeezing it tightly._

_Smiling at that, Beckett entwined their fingers before she whispered, "Does it drive you crazy?"_

_"_ I need you _," Castle said firmly, not breaking their gaze._

 _"_ So do I _," Beckett replied before she bit her lower lip. "Rick… what you do to me…"_

_Letting out a breathy laugh, Castle said, "We're addicted to each other, this shouldn't be a surprise we're talking like this when we're in the middle of dinner."_

_"No, it shouldn't," Beckett replied, smiling. She looked down at the meal, their plates half eaten and said, "We should finish."_

_"We should," Castle said though it was hard to agree with her. But after they squeezed each other's hands, he let her go reluctantly and went back to eating._

_Beckett thought they might fall silent with their obvious suppression of their desire but she then laughed softly and said, "Remember our first dinner together?"_

_"At your place," Castle said with a smile as he took the distraction then. "Yeah, that was actually fun, though we had to learn to work around each other in the kitchen." He looked thoughtful for a moment and then told her, "I think we perfected doing that."_

_"We had to, cooking for our daughters," Beckett replied. She then said, "When you go to the garden, make sure you help Eliza."_

_"Of course, I have to encourage her talent as a photographer, since she's taking after her mother it'd be a shame not to," Castle replied._

_Smiling back at him, Beckett then brought up the idea he'd had about taking their daughters to FAO Schwartz. That took them through the meal as they were discussing what they'd do with them there before they were clearing the table. Once they'd finished cleaning up she followed him over to his office where they sat down to their pre-agreed on Monty Python marathon. "I don't know that these are too romantic," she said to him teasingly._

_"You agreed with me when…" Castle started to say before he quickly trailed off. "Damn it, I never can tell…" he said with a frown._

_Though she knew his expression was an affectation, Beckett leaned down and pressed her lips to his before pulling back. She leaned against him as the movie began, sitting on his lap and she said, "Do you still want to watch all of these?"_

_"This one will be fine," Castle said, looking into her eyes._

_"It's the shortest," Beckett said, cupping his cheek in her hand before stroking his lower lip with her thumb._

_"It is," Castle said. And with that he wrapped his arms around her tightly as she pressed tightly against him before they turned their attention back to the movie._

_Though they enjoyed it greatly, Castle and Beckett found themselves having a hard time paying too deep attention to it. When it had finished, he turned off the TV before she was leaning down to close the gap between them both. Their kiss that time was far more frantic and passionate until they were parting with a hurried gasp._

_Staring into her husband's eyes, Beckett smiled widely at him before she got up and pulled him after her into their bedroom feeling him following her willingly until the door closed behind them._

* * *

_Their moist skin pressed together nearly an hour later, Castle turned his head and nuzzled her cheek with his lips saying, "You were incredible love, again."_

_"So were you Rick… again," Beckett said, hesitating for as long as she could on that word until he pulled away to look at her._

_Smiling at that, Castle sighed deeply and put his free hand underneath his head. His other he used to stroke her side as gently as he could before saying, "They're not back yet."_

_"Is that supposed to be a hint to me?" Beckett asked, looking at him and brushing her fingertips against his cheek._

_"A small hint, when you want to take it of course," Castle replied, moving his hand up to her bare right breast and starting to fondle it gently. He froze when she suddenly grasped his length and he looked at her saying, "Now you can."_

_"Of course," Beckett said simply, mounting her husband easily before he sat up to her, wrapping his arms around her._

_Their lips crushing each other desperately, hungrily, Castle and Beckett went through the rest of their night never keeping far apart. They slept after their second bout of making love before he woke her up and kissed her until she was taking him again. And after that the night followed that same pattern, a short amount of sleep with a nearly frantic and ravenous bout of passionate lovemaking. They didn't stop though they were exhausting themselves, their want for one another winning out over everything else they needed, letting it take over them completely, gladly every time._

* * *

"Daddy," Eliza said, tugging on his sleeve.

"What is it?" Castle asked, turning to her. "You want to turn that over?"

"Yes please," the toddler said with a wide smile. She watched as her father turned over the mold that she had filled with blue sand and clapped her hands together as the shape of an elephant was visible.

Smiling as Eliza kissed his cheek, Castle looked over at Beckett and Julia who were watching saying, "I'm pretty sure you could do this with her."

"We're leaving right now," Beckett said, taking their oldest's hand. "We'll meet you in the greenhouse."

"Bye," Eliza said, waving to them.

"I guess you don't want to stay with them?" Castle asked in amusement as he turned his attention back to her.

"I played with Mommy," Eliza said, standing up.

"You want to go do something else?" Castle said. When she nodded he leaned over and brushed her hands off before taking one of them and leading her over to the wall where different metal objects were hung. "Okay, this is where you get to pretend you're Ringo," he said as she looked up at him in slight confusion.

Taking the 'drumstick' that was attached to the wall as well; Eliza frowned before she looked at another kid hitting a garbage can lid. She went to a metal bowl and hit it, giggling at the sound before she hit the two items below it.

Castle joined her when one of the drumsticks was freed up and after they'd played for a while nearly had to pull her away before he reminded her about the water toys they had to go to still. "Sorry but if I didn't get you going we'd be late to meet your mom and sister," he told her.

"Why are Gram and Alexis gone?" Eliza asked then.

"Well, they let us come on our own because you're going home with them later," Castle said. "And they'll spend time with you and Julia on their own for a while."

"Oh," Eliza said before they came to the room where there were different things to play with in water. She watched her father grabbing a plastic apron and said, "That's too small Daddy."

"For me?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he chuckled slightly before telling her, "It's not for me, it's for you."

"Why Daddy?" Eliza asked though she was putting her arms through it.

"So you don't get your clothes wet, everyone's wearing them," Castle told her. When he'd tied the apron closed over her he let her lead the way to the shorter of the pools and watched her grab a plastic dolphin, pushing it under the water before making it jump over the plastic toy balls that were floating on the surface.

"Daddy you play too," Eliza insisted. "Get the boat," she said, pointing to a plastic one on the platform in the middle of the water.

Smiling in amusement at her slightly commanding tone; since he could easily hear her mother in it; Castle grabbed it and started to push the boat towards her. He watched her throw the dolphin over it and laughed when she squealed at the splash it made. "Not too bad, but careful you don't make it jump out of the water too high," he told her, kissing her temple.

"I play with this," Eliza said firmly, grabbing the boat and pushing it around the obstacles in the water.

Kissing the top of her head, Castle stepped back a little as he looked on, wondering what Beckett and Julia were doing in the rest of the museum.

When they'd left Castle and Eliza at the toddler section, Julia had pulled her mother back to one of the sections they'd already visited that focused on nature.

"I'm not too surprised," Beckett said as they stepped inside.

"That I wanted to come back here?" Julia asked her mother. When she nodded she smiled and said, "I wanted to touch the sea stars again."

"That I knew," Beckett said, squeezing her hand before letting her lead the way to the touch pool.

"Are you going to pick up one this time?" Julia asked, since before Castle had helped her and her sister.

"I will, but hurry we don't have too much time," Beckett said. She leaned over, taking a picture of Julia picking up one of the sea stars near them, before she slipped her camera in her pocket. Picking one up herself she smiled when she felt the suction from the bottom of the animal before it released her. "You want to pet those now?" she asked in surprise as next to her, her oldest was going to a horseshoe crab.

"Yeah, I shouldn't be scared," Julia said though her tone hesitated a little. She reached in and carefully pet the top of the animal with her first two fingers, smiling as her mother joined her. "Too bad Eliza got so scared," she said when they'd finished and were going to wash their hands.

After they'd finished, Beckett was about to turn around when she felt little arms throw themselves around her waist. Smiling, she looked down at her youngest and picked her up, letting her legs swing out before saying, "You finished already?"

"She wants to get going to the zoo," Castle said, coming up behind her. "Now that she knows for sure we're going there."

"She's excited 'cause she doesn't remember," Julia told her mother in a matter of fact tone.

"And you?" Beckett asked, knowing the little girl felt the same too.

"I love the zoo," Julia said, smiling widely as she knew her mother was teasing her.

"You do," Beckett replied. "Okay, so we have only one more thing left to see, the greenhouse."

"Not the zoo?" Eliza asked.

"We can go through it quickly," Beckett said as Castle got Julia's hand and they started to leave that section to head over to it.

Inside it seemed Eliza had forgotten about the zoo for the moment as her sister led her over to some plants that kids were rubbing the leaves of. "Why Jules?" she asked, tugging her sister's hand.

"To smell them, let's wait to see what they are," Julia told her as they waited for some kids ahead of them to finish.

Watching the two, Castle said, "I thought she was more eager to see you two again."

"Not when she seemed to be fine with us leaving," Beckett replied. She then turned her attention back to their daughters as they smelled a leaf, telling Julia, "Let her guess what that is."

Sniffing, Eliza frowned before she smiled and said, "Lemonade!"

"It's just lemon," Castle said in amusement as Julia laughed softly at how exuberant the toddler had said that. He and Beckett had joined them and taking a smaller plant's leaf he rubbed it saying, "This one you know," before letting the girls smell.

"Can I say?" Julia asked her little sister. When she had nodded she quickly said, "That's mint."

"Mmm, can I eat?" Eliza said eagerly when their parents nodded at Julia's guess.

"Oh no these are to smell, not to eat," Beckett said, her voice tinged with laughter. As Eliza giggled at that she leaned over and kissed her cheek before leading her to the last plant. "This one might be harder to guess," she said, looking at her husband as he was sniffing himself.

"Ah, yeah, we might have to just tell you," Castle directed to the girls.

Julia was going to protest that but after smelling it she was relieved that she hadn't as she had no idea what it was, though it smelled familiar. "What is it?" she asked after looking to Eliza who seemed slightly perplexed.

"Patchouli," Castle replied. "Your mom burns this in our room sometimes."

"Oh, that's why I thought I smelled it before," Julia said, nodding. "Let's go see what to do next," she said as she took Eliza's hand and they walked ahead of their parents.

After smelling some jasmine flowers; that the toddler nearly picked in her excitement in smelling; and looking at the flowering cherry trees, the family stopped at the gift shop. Since Eliza had remembered the zoo they went through it quickly; Castle and Beckett picking out a puzzle their daughters could do with them that showed an aquatic habitat with the marine life labeled.

Once they were in the cab Castle had to calm down Eliza as the toddler was jumping on his lap in her excitement, chanting about the animals.

"Eliza, we're not gonna see all of those," Julia said, giggling when her sister was talking about horses.

"No?" she asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"You'll still see a lot of animals," Beckett said reassuringly. "Some you haven't before."

"I never saw them before," Eliza said slowly.

"You came here before but you don't remember," Julia had to say yet again as her sister never seemed to believe the fact that she had been to the zoo since she was a baby.

"She's right," Castle said as Eliza looked to him and Beckett. "And we're here now," he said as the cab came to a stop. He quickly paid the driver and once on the sidewalk of the edge of the park, swung the toddler up onto his shoulders. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Eliza said happily, leaning over and putting her hands under his chin. She pressed her cheek to the top of his head and said, "Daddy?"

"Yes sweetheart," Castle said as he felt Beckett taking his free hand.

"Mommy too," Eliza said quickly. "Mommy I'm hungry."

"We're going to eat first thing," Beckett assured her. "And that's where we're going to meet your grandparents and sister."

"So now we get to spend time with everyone," Julia said.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said, squeezing her hand she held in her other.

After they had paid admission they headed straight to the café and when they neared the outside tables Eliza gasped and said, "Everyone came!"

Sharing a smile with his wife, Castle set Eliza down and they watched her walk quickly with her sister over to the boys, Lanie, Jenny and Tommy who were with their parents and Alexis. "I think we surprised them," he commented as Lanie was hugging the girls at the same time.

"How does it feel to be three now Eliza?" the doctor was asking her.

"I am a big girl," the toddler said proudly. "Not a baby."

"No, you're not," Lanie said, glancing at Beckett who'd come over to them. "You're still seeing her as one?" she asked as they shared a hug.

"You can't help it," Beckett replied simply, knowing her friend understood what she was going through. "How are you?"

"Great but you're sure all of us can go with you?" Lanie asked as her friend went to the boys and hugged them quickly.

"It'll be a big group," Castle said as he was holding Tommy. "I told him he's getting close to being a toddler himself, not a baby anymore."

Turing from Jenny, Beckett smiled as she took the nearly two year old boy and said, "He's very close. How are you?" She wasn't surprised when the boy didn't say anything, merely looked up at her and tried grabbing her pendant. "He's good?" she asked his mother.

"He's doing great, we saw a peacock going by waiting for you, he nearly took off after it," Ryan answered for his wife.

"And there's another one," Beckett said as Eliza squealed and they turned to see what she was reacting to. "Girls," she said as she set down Tommy when he started to squirm in her hold. "Tell me what you want to eat." It took a moment longer than it normally would have to know what the girls wanted but finally she was going inside with Castle, Ryan and Lanie. "He's gotten big," she told her former colleague.

"Yeah he has, he's getting the hang of walking more and more," Ryan said. "And getting to the running stage which is a lot of fun…"  
"I remember Eliza at that stage," Castle said absently, looking at the menu. He looked at his wife and smiled saying, "Remember-"

"Yes, hard to forget nearly slipping and falling running after her in the snow," Beckett replied. "How she never fell I haven't figured out."

"So weren't you supposed to go to the carousel and playground today?" Lanie asked as they were standing by the doors leading out after they'd ordered.

"Julia pointed out to us before we went to Brooklyn that she, Eliza and Rick hadn't been able to come here that day they had alone since it'd been raining," Beckett said. "And since we had managed to take them to the botanical gardens the next day we talked it over and they agreed to come here." She paused before she then added, "But we're still taking them to the carousel."

"Julia?" Lanie asked.

"No, Eliza," Beckett said with a smile at that. "She insisted, so at least she'll still get to see horses," she said, her tone of voice becoming slightly musing. Shaking herself then she said, "Are you and Espo going to be okay walking around?"

"He's heading out," Ryan said. When the two women looked at him he sighed and said, "He's going to go into the station after this, to pick up Bilveau's shift. Not because he didn't want to come but because he owes him and Bilveau's got his son's softball game to go to. You're not mad are you?"

"Considering we put this together at literally the last minute-" Castle started to say.

"If he had this planned ahead of time…" Beckett continued. When Ryan nodded she said, "Then we can't be mad."

"Okay, he'll be glad to hear that," Ryan replied with a nod before their number was called.

"Did you see the birdie?" Eliza was asking Tommy outside. When the baby merely looked at her she said, "You can talk."

"Hi," the boy said before giggling and then rushing to his mother.

"You were like that too," Julia said, going over to her sister then. "He's just shy."

"Oh," Eliza said before she saw their father coming out. "Is that mine?" she asked, hurrying over to him.

"Not all of it," Castle said jokingly.

"No, I don't want that, just for me," Eliza told him.

"Where did the peacock go?" Beckett asked as they sat down at two of the tables and she and Castle were passing out the food they had that belonged to them, the girls, Alexis, Martha and Lanie.

"He left, just walked by," Julia replied. She smiled and said, "Aunt Jenny had to stop Tommy from running after it."

"You didn't do the same?" Castle asked Eliza teasingly.

"No, the birdie is big," the toddler replied with a giggle. "Too big to take."

"Take home, as a pet," Julia said. She ate a fry and then said, "I said it would be a nice pet but she said Macca wouldn't like him."

"No, we're not getting a peacock Rick," Beckett said as her husband turned to her. "They're not kidding, Macca won't like him."

"Still you know that picture we have of Shiva and Parvati-" Castle started to say.

"I know, there's a peacock there but no," Beckett said.

"Does she have to do that often?" Lanie asked Alexis, who she was sitting next to.

"A few times," the young woman said with a wry grin at her father. "He forgets sometimes that he's the dad."

"Not all the time," Julia said.

"Sweetie," Beckett said to Eliza, who was sitting with her sister but was also next to her. She gently wiped her mouth of ketchup and said, "How are you liking your birthday so far?"

Eliza smiled at that and squirmed a little seeing Martha opposite from her and Julia was studying her to see her reply. "It is fun!" she said. She then bit her lower lip briefly and said, "Presents?"

"We'll see," Castle said as he and Beckett glanced to his mother.

"So what will we be seeing first?" Martha said after nodding imperceptibly to her son and daughter in law.

"Will we go in order?" Julia asked.

"Do you two want to go that way?" Castle asked them. When both girls nodded; though Eliza didn't look completely sure; he said, "Okay then we'll be going to the tropics first."

"What aminal is that?" Eliza asked.

"That's a habitat, where it's hotter," Julia explained. "There are really interesting animals there."

"I think any animal will be interesting to her," Lanie said, a smile on her face as she was looking at the awed expression on the toddler's face.

"More than likely," Beckett said.

Lanie then asked the girls to tell her how their week had gone since the last time she'd seen them. They told her what they'd been doing with their parents and family until lunch was finished and Esposito was going over to their table.

"We're doing this now right?" he asked Beckett and Castle.

"We are," Beckett said, watching as he handed Julia, Eliza and her husband wrapped gifts.

"Presents!" Eliza gasped in delight seeing hers. "Do I open?" she asked Esposito.

"Yeah, that's what they're for," the detective said with a smile.

Tearing open their gifts, Julia uncovered an old piggy bank shaped like a horse, Eliza's was also a bank shaped like a horse but in different colors and Castle received an old race car model.

"Thank you _Tio_ Javi," Julia said, beaming up at him. "It's so pretty, I think it's gonna be a decoration in my room."

Eliza pulled on her sister's sleeve and said, "What is that?"

"It means it's just for show, I'm not gonna use it," Julia quickly explained.

"Me too," Eliza said before she started to climb down from her seat. With her mother's help she was able to get to the ground and she hurried around to Esposito, holding her arms up to him.

As he picked her up, he felt Julia grabbing his hand and he reached over, hugging her with that arm before he said, "You two are welcome; I thought you might enjoy the horses."

"Yeah, we do," Julia assured him. "Daddy?"

"Does this work?" Castle asked, looking up finally from his model.

"I tried it out once I got home, unfortunately no bro," Esposito said as he put Eliza down after she kissed his cheek in thanks.

"Still, it's really detailed, it's awesome," Castle said, reaching over and shaking his hand. "Thanks."

Nodding, Esposito said, "I better get going but it was great to see you. Let me know next time you're in the city?"

"We will," Julia answered before her parents could say anything.

"What she said," Castle said when he looked at him and Beckett.

After saying goodbye to Esposito, the others gave the three celebrating their birthday gifts and while they were opening them talked about the plans for the girls that night as they revealed everything. Getting some toys and books from Ryan and Jenny and some summer clothes for their trip from Lanie, Julia and Eliza went to the three, hugging them in thanks. Castle had received some books from Ryan and Jenny that were first editions and Lanie had given him cologne. He thanked them gratefully before suggesting that they should get started on the zoo before the day got too late, the girls and Tommy agreeing eagerly to that. The group cleaned up the wrapping paper from the table then before they walked towards the first exhibit.

"Are you sure you want to go with us?" Jenny asked Castle and Beckett. "We'll be slower with Tommy."

"They don't need to leave for a while," Castle said.

"But we need to get back for our gifts," Jim said.

"That's true," Castle said, remembering then. "But he can't be that bad."

"He won't be, I know how to help him keep going," Ryan said as they came to the first animal.

A cry went through the group and the others all looked down at Eliza who was gazing up at an anteater on some branches. Her mouth was wide open in awe before someone was taking her hand. "Oh, thank you Daddy!" she said happily as he had put her mother's old camera in her hand, then helped her set up a shot before she pressed the shutter button which she knew how to do.

"Looks good," Jim said with a smile as his granddaughter rushed to him to show.

"I hope so," Eliza replied before he was ushering her to continue. She had him help her take pictures of brightly colored lizards, a bird with a feathery head and what she thought was a big raccoon like they had seen around home.

"That's a coati," Alexis said to her little sister and Tommy who she was standing with. "It's pretty isn't it?" she asked before smiling when the boy nodded in agreement, while Eliza was just staring at it. She glanced at her father as he came over to them and said, "I think it was a great idea to work this back into the week."

"Me too," Castle replied with a nod. While Ryan was picking up his son, he picked up Eliza to her gasp of surprise before setting her on his hip. "Did you get a picture?" When she could only nod, still looking back at the animal, he kissed her temple and said, "We're going to go to the next animals okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said, though hesitantly. When they finally left the exhibit she asked her mother who was walking next to them, "What now Mommy?"

"It's called the Temperate Territory," Beckett said.

"What's that mean?" Julia asked.

"That these animals can get used to the weather changing," Castle answered. "Which they need to do here of course."

"Snow?" Eliza asked.

"Yep, look, here are some turtles," Castle pointed out as they came to the first habitat.

Not surprised when Eliza watched the animals in that area closely, Beckett helped her take pictures that time as they went by snow monkeys, red pandas and snow leopards. She wasn't surprised when it became a little difficult to get both the toddler and Tommy away from the last animal but finally she was able to pick Eliza up and kiss her cheek to distract her before she could start crying.

"I think we'll have to take him home," Jenny said in regret as hers and Ryan's son was crying heavily against her neck.

"Time for a nap?" Castle asked.

"It is, we were hoping he'd sleep in his stroller but…" Ryan said as he helped his wife get Tommy into the stroller. "I recognize that cry."

"It sounds a lot like Eliza's when she was at that age," Beckett said. "So you need to go?"

"But-" Julia and Eliza started to say at the same time.

"We're so sorry girls," Jenny said, going to them and kneeling in front of them. "He does need rest, he's still growing too. But when he's older we'll go through the whole zoo with you, if you want us to."

"I do," Eliza said firmly.

"So do I," Julia said. "Do we have to say goodbye?" When Jenny nodded she said, "Thank you for my presents, I loved them."

"Me too, mine I love," Eliza hurried to add.

"I'm glad to hear that girls," Jenny said, hugging them both and kissing their cheeks. "Have fun the rest of your birthday."

Ryan knelt and hugged the two as they hugged him, saying, "Happy Birthday again Julia, Eliza. Next time you come back we might have you come over to play."

"Thank you Uncle Ryan," Eliza said in what she thought was her most grown up sounding voice.

After Castle and Beckett had said goodbye to the family; trying to say goodbye to Tommy though he was still sniffling, they gathered their daughters and headed to the second to last exhibit they would be going through.

"Teddy bear!" Eliza cried from on top of her father's shoulders by then.

"That's a polar bear," Julia told her, looking up at her sister with a wide smile as their father set the toddler on his hip. "It's pretty isn't it?" she then added as her sister's eyes were very wide.

"A big bear," Eliza said with a giggle before her father helped her take a picture. She made a sound of protest when he started to leave and then sighed as he didn't stop. "More aminals?" she asked. When he didn't reply she looked ahead and soon saw what they were approaching. "Pens!" she cried, clapping her hand against her camera.

"Penguins," Julia said, laughing at her mispronunciation.

"I don't think she minds calling them that," Lanie said with a smile as she stood next to them. When Eliza turned to her at that she reached out and took the toddler before having to help her take a picture. "Girl, I didn't realize you were serious," she commented to Beckett who walked over to stand next to her.

"About what?" she asked in confusion as she watched Eliza looking at the birds.

"Her taking pictures already," Lanie replied.

Turning to her friend Beckett said, "You saw before, she can't take it without help."

"Still, it's a start," Castle said, going over to his wife.

Lanie watched the two with a slight smile on her face as Castle put his arm around Beckett's waist and she said, "We'll keep going with them," as Julia was starting to walk to the next animals.

"We're following," Beckett said, as she and Castle did so. She touched his arm before he reached for her hand and they watched Eliza and Julia as they looked at the birds through the rest of the exhibit. When they'd finished she was surprised when Lanie came over to her and handed Eliza over to her. "You too?" she asked.

"Yeah, if I go in early I can leave early… I have a date tonight," the doctor replied.

"You didn't mention that when I saw you last," Beckett said in surprise.

"I wasn't sure if it was going to happen until this morning," Lanie said. "I was going to head out to the salon by my place after work."

"You'll tell me how it goes?" Beckett asked, hugging her with one arm as she guessed that Eliza had said goodbye to her already.

"Of course, let me know how the rest of today goes," Lanie replied before she let go of her. "Goodbye Julia, I hope the rest of your birthday is a good one."

"It will be but I hope you have fun on your date," the little girl replied, smiling up at her as she hugged her. "Thank you for my gift."

"You're very welcome, I'll see you next time you come to the city," Lanie assured her. She then went over to Alexis and hugged her tightly, making her promise to go to lunch with her once she returned to the city after her Spring Break.

Waving goodbye as the doctor was leaving Julia turned to her parents quickly and asked, "Can we go to the kid's zoo now?"

"Yes," Beckett said simply. She smiled when the little girl cheered and ran to her grandfather, taking his hand. "Who do you want to go with?" she asked as Eliza was squirming in her arms then.

"Wanna go Mommy," the toddler replied.

"Okay, let's go then," Beckett said with a smile before she felt Castle taking her free hand.

Reaching the other zoo, Julia waited impatiently for their mother to put Eliza down before she took her hand and ran with her over to the large lily pads they started to jump over together. She waved to the others when she looked at them to see they were watching and said to her little sister, "Look at Mommy, she's taking a picture."

Eliza turned and smiled widely as Julia stood behind her on one of the pads. "Can we go there?" she asked then, seeing the giant turtle shell.

"Yeah, Alexis?" Julia asked, smiling widely.

"I'm coming," the young woman said.

Castle watched as his wife took a picture of their daughters who had climbed into the shell and when she showed him the screen he said, "Thank you love."

"I had to," Beckett replied simply before she felt him lean down slightly to kiss her cheek. She was quick to do the same to him before they heard their daughters calling them as they reached the dwarf goats. Joining them she took more pictures of them before Eliza and Julia were taking their hands so they continued down the path, both chattering eagerly about what they would see next.

* * *

As the other three sitting around them at the table soon stopped singing, Castle looked at the girls who were sitting on his knees and said, "Ready? Remember to make a wish."

Closing her eyes, Julia made a quick mental wish before hearing her father starting to countdown. When he reached one she blew out the candles with him and Eliza, clapping as they all went out at once.

"Why Jules?" the toddler asked her.

"'Cause that means our wishes are gonna come true," Julia explained. She watched as Beckett sliced the cake and said, "I can wait to eat my piece."

"Julia," Beckett replied simply.

Sighing, the little girl took the slice her mother handed her and started to eat saying, "Should I sit in a chair?"

"You're fine there," Castle assured her, taking a slice of cake then. "Sweetheart, your fork," he told Eliza gently, seeing the toddler had gathered some of the frosting on her finger.

Cutting off a slice, Eliza ate it and then leaned back against her father, humming loudly before she glanced around and saw everyone else was watching her. She giggled and squirmed a little before her father was getting another piece of cake for her with her fork.

"You don't need to head back to your place Dad?" Beckett asked as they were all eating.

"I have everything I need for the week in that suitcase," Jim said.

"I'm so glad you're coming Grandpapa," Julia said. "You can walk me and Eliza to school… can't you?"

"Of course," Jim replied, smiling at her for a moment. "I'll be able to walk all over town with you."

Gasping, Eliza asked, "Can we go to the flowers?"

"Why do you want to get those darling?" Martha asked her.

"For Mommy?" Eliza said, turning to her father.

"We'll see," Beckett said before her husband could reply.

"Oh," Eliza said before she looked at her plate. "Mommy, can-"

"Hold on," Beckett said as she stood up and took her empty plate. With Alexis' help they got the table cleared and then set down the presents from her and Castle; to the girls; Alexis, Jim and Martha in front of the three at the end of the table. "Open your presents from your sister first," she said as she and her stepdaughter sat down.

"At the same time right?" Castle asked, looking at the gifts that were in front of them.

Beckett paused for a moment before she said, "Okay but Julia come here and sit in your chair. Eliza want to sit with me?"

"Kay," the toddler said before she let her mother pick her up. She then unwrapped the gift at the same time her sister and father were before she squealed in pleasure. "Maze Mommy!" as inside the box was a wooden maze.

"I know it has the metal ball but someone will play that with her, right Lizzy?" Alexis said. She smiled when the toddler nodded firmly before she looked at Julia. "Well Jules?" she said.

"It's perfect," the little girl replied, beaming at her and showing the Beatles t-shirts that were inside the box. "I love the pictures on them both. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Alexis replied simply, pleased to see her reaction.

"I'm pretty happy with my gift," Castle was saying slightly absently as he was looking at the back of the book she'd given him.

"I thought you and Kate might share that one," Alexis said, since it was a child's book in Irish.

"With Julia and Eliza too," Beckett said as she looked through the book before setting it down. "Thank you from all of us." After Alexis had nodded to her she said, "Martha?"

"Of course, go ahead," Castle's mother said, finishing the last of the wine in her glass. She watched the three unwrapping and smiled when the girls squealed at nearly the same time in joy at their gifts she'd made them, which were costumes for dress up along with a brooch each.

"Are those real?" Alexis asked in surprise when Beckett held up Eliza's brooch.

"They belonged to my grandmother, you have one yourself Alexis," Martha replied. "You might need to wait until you're a little older to wear them but I wanted to give them to you."

"Oh thank you Gram," Julia breathed, hearing her sister echoing her happily. "What'd you get Daddy?"

"Your grandfather's?" Castle asked, holding out the cane so the girls could see the carved handle.

"It was, from Ireland," Martha replied. "And if you're all wondering why I'm giving him that now, I just discovered it in some of my brother's things he left to me."

"That storage space?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "Thank you then Mother, it's a wonderful gift."

"You're not going to use it are you?" Julia asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh no, it's more for decoration," Castle assured her, though he had to wonder if there would come a time when he'd need it. Shaking that thought away, he opened his next gift, from his father in law, before taking out a bottle of Irish whiskey. "You got this on your trip," he said, looking over to the girls and seeing that they were looking at books that he could tell were from Ireland.

"I got everything on the trip," Jim said with a smile, having taken a vacation at Christmas the year before to the county; a gift from his daughter and son in law though he'd remained around Dublin. "That I hope you'll enjoy, I was told it was a good one."

After her husband and their daughters had thanked her father, Beckett said, "Okay, last gifts," to the girls. "These are from your daddy and I."

"What about you Mommy?" Julia said.

"Yeah Mommy," Eliza said, frowning a little.

Trying not to laugh on the expression on the toddler's face, Beckett told her, "I have something for him later. Open your gifts though now so we can see what you think."

Julia was able to open her present first and she squealed in pleasure as she revealed it was a new camera. "Really?"  
"Really," Castle said. "For your trip in the summer, we're hoping you'll take some good pictures we can use for books."

Taking out the book that had been underneath the camera's box, Julia opened it and cried out saying, "These are mine I took!"

"I have a number of books like that, you should have more of your own now," Beckett said as Julia flipped through it.

Though she was tempted to see every last picture inside the book, Julia forced herself to look over at her little sister and she asked, "What did you get?"

"For art!" Eliza cried, pointing to the wooden box that her mother then opened. "Look, look!" she said excitedly as she saw all the colored pencils, crayons, markers and different kinds of paints.

"You'll be making so many pictures with that Lizzy," Alexis said with a smile. "And you got a book too?"

"Yeah," the toddler finally said when she'd been able to turn her attention to the book that had been under the box. She opened it with her mother's help, and smiled when she saw the first picture was of her parents with her at what was the parents' day at her school. "That was fun," she said, looking up at Beckett after she and her sister had thanked their parents profusely.

"Oh I know, we did a lot of art that day," Castle said, leaning over to kiss her temple. "Keep looking."

Letting Beckett flip through the pages, Eliza giggled at the pictures of her with her entire family and even some of her with her friends from school at some of the playgrounds around town. "I love it," she said firmly then, looking between her parents.

"Look at the last pictures," Julia urged her since they hadn't reached it yet.

When her mother had opened the book to the third to last page, the smile on Eliza's face grew wider and she asked, "Is that me?"

"Yep, that was you when you were a baby," Beckett said, smiling since she knew the toddler recognized the first family picture they'd taken. While they took a larger family picture during the summer when they were all together, she and Castle took a picture in the living room on her birthday or near it in November. In the first one, she was holding an almost eight month old Eliza on her lap. She turned the page and there hers and Castle's youngest was nearly twenty months old, on her lap again. The very last page; the last picture they'd taken the year before; Eliza was two and a half. "See how much you've grown?"

"Yeah, I got big," the toddler said, giggling. "Thank you, I want to see at home too."

"You'll be taking it with you," Castle said, kissing Eliza on the temple as Beckett kissed her on the other at the same time.

"I think we should go," Jim said reluctantly, looking at his watch.

"We should clean up first," Beckett said, looking at her own and realizing he was right. But instead of getting up, she let Alexis, Martha and her father do that before she looked at Julia and Eliza closely. "Are you two sure you don't mind us staying?"

"We don't Mommy," Julia told her seriously as her little sister nodded with the same expression on her face.

"You and Daddy stay and kiss," Eliza said. She smiled when her parents started to look a little embarrassed at that, and said, "Julia said."

"I did, 'cause it's true," the little girl quickly told them. "But also you should have time alone too. And we'll be with Gram, Grandpapa and Alexis, so we'll be safe."

"You girls are incredibly sweet," Castle said, sharing a smile with his wife before he took Julia's hand and led her over to him. "While everyone's in the Hamptons, we'll stay with you okay? No going out," he told the two.

When Julia opened her mouth to protest that, Beckett said, "We already talked about it and we're going to do that."

"Unless the three of us manage to convince you to paint the town red," Martha commented, closing Eliza's art box.

"Mother," Castle sighed though he had a slight smile on his face at her insistent tone.

"She could do that," Julia told her little sister who looked confused. "So maybe Mommy and Daddy will go somewhere."

"Come on, let's get you ready," Beckett said then to change the subject. She picked up Eliza and carried her to the suitcases at the door to help Alexis put the gifts that the girls had gotten into an empty case. "Alright, now you're all set let me kiss you goodnight," she said before she gathered both her daughters in her arms. Hugging them tightly she said, "Thank you for letting us stay and I hope the rest of your birthday is amazing."

"It will be," Julia said insistently. "I hope you have a great night with Daddy."

Smiling at them both, Beckett shared kisses with them before saying, "I love you Julia, Eliza, so much."

"Love you Mommy thank you again for the presents," Julia quickly said.

"Love you too Mommy and thank you and Daddy for presents," Eliza was swift to say. When their father then knelt in front of them she threw her arms around his neck saying, "Love you Daddy! Have a good birthday now."

"I love you too Eliza and I love you Julia," Castle told them, hugging them both to him as tightly as he could. "And don't worry," he said quickly when he looked at them and saw that the little girl was about to speak. "I'll have a very nice birthday with your mom too. But we'll miss you."

"We always do," Beckett added, standing next to them after having said goodbye to the others.

Sharing a kiss with both girls, Castle stood and brought Eliza with him before hugging Alexis and kissing her cheek. He shook Jim's hand and kissed his mother's cheek before he and Beckett told them a few last minute instructions.

"Relax you two," Martha said. "They'll be fine and we can take care of them."

"And they're okay with coming with us," Alexis then added.

"Right," Castle said, not surprised his daughter had guessed the reason they'd done that was from their slight guilt still. "Then have a great night and call us when you get to the house."

"Are you gonna talk to us?" Julia asked.

"Do you not want to?" Beckett said in surprise.

"We can text them," Alexis replied.

"So you don't interrupt their dinner," Jim added, smiling when the girls both nodded.

"You'll get home before we leave," Castle pointed out.

"We'll still text," Martha said. "Enjoy your night and we'll see you tomorrow."

Standing out in the hall and calling goodbye to the two, Beckett waited until their family had disappeared around the corner before telling her husband as they went back into the loft, "I guess we have permission to stay."

"I think so," Castle said laughingly. "So, you want to get ready?"

Beckett studied him for a moment before she took his hand and without a word pulled him over to their room, unsurprised by his hand snaking its way around her waist before they headed into the bathroom to begin divesting each other of their clothes for their shower.

* * *

Leaning against the side of the dresser as he watched his wife putting her earrings on, Castle said, "Do they know what you're wearing?"

"They always ask so yes, they know," Beckett replied, smiling at him. When he stepped up to her she placed her hands on his chest and told him, "You need to hold on."

"And why do I need to?" Castle said, reaching up and taking her wrists.

"I promise we'll have time for that later," Beckett told him firmly. She slipped away from him and wasn't too surprised when he was quick to follow her, putting his arm around her waist before he pulled her back against him. "You don't listen do you?" she asked wryly, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"That surprises you?" Castle shot back before he leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, trailing down as far as he could until he reached the neckline of her dress.

"Not really, I just like to point it out," Beckett said before turning around and hugging him a second before he was kissing her. She responded in a hurry before they were dueling together and then pulled back as she remembered their plans suddenly. When he leaned towards her, trying to kiss her again, she stepped back and told him, "Later."

Though he wanted to tell her he'd changed his mind about going out to dinner, Castle sighed deeply and said, "Alright but you owe me."

"I do have a gift for you," Beckett said as she left the room to go out to the door.

"Not that," Castle said.

"You're a little presumptuous," Beckett teased him as she put her coat over her dress. She wasn't surprised when Castle was so focused on looking at the dress that he didn't respond to what she'd said. She smirked slightly to herself as she had a sense of satisfaction at her choice; the dress she'd worn for their second Valentine's Day together. Once she had buttoned her coat she said, "Hurry, I'm starving."

Hearing that, Castle shook himself and got his jacket before he grabbed his key and left with her, taking hold of her hand and not letting it go. He could feel the look his wife was giving him as he was hailing a cab but didn't speak. Once they were on their way he said, "I'm not trying to make you change your mind."

"No, I thought you just didn't want to let go," Beckett replied in amusement.

"It's funny?" Castle asked, studying her after making sure that the partition between them and the driver was still closed.

"I find it a little amusing, you've seen me in this dress before, looking the same," Beckett pointed out to him.

"And the image never wears out," Castle replied. He paused then and asked, "That does make sense right?"

"It does," Beckett said, smiling because he was so serious. She took his hand then and entwined their fingers together before she said, "The girls?" as at that exact same moment the text alert sounded from his phone.

"They got there," Castle replied, using one hand as he didn't want to let go of her yet. "There was a little traffic, that makes sense, and they're getting ready now…"

Leaning over slightly as he turned the screen of the phone towards her, Beckett smiled seeing a picture there of their daughters in mid-wave with Macca between them. "So they're happy," she commented as both had a wide smile on their faces.

"Very," Castle said. "Hopefully they'll have fun during that dinner," he said. He got another text and laughed saying, "They must be psychic," as he let his wife see the text Julia had obviously typed out to them.

" _Have fun at dinner and give Daddy his last gift_ ," Beckett read before she laughed. "We will," she said as she typed that out with one hand. When he had pocketed his phone she looked outside as they were at the restaurant telling him, "You're sure?"

"Oh, now you want to change your mind," Castle said in mock annoyance. He smiled when she just laughed softly and he got out of the cab after he'd paid the driver. He helped her step out and as soon as she was standing with him he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to the entrance saying, "I think I changed my mind."

"So we're staying here all night?" Beckett asked, teasing him.

"No," Castle said, staring at her intently.

Biting her lower lip at the look on his face, Beckett let him open the door for her before she went inside. With the crowded restaurant she was distracted from the sudden rush of desire that had hit her at his expression and she turned to him saying, "I get the feeling this is one of those times I should be glad for your connections."

Castle merely nodded in response to that as one of those connections was walking up to them at that moment. "Pierre," he said, shaking the man's hand. "If I'd known you were here tonight I would have brought a bottle for you."

"Wonderful to see you again Mr. Castle," the man said, shaking his hand. "And this is your wife," he said, smiling at Beckett.

"This is Pierre," Castle told his wife. "A really good friend of mine."

"I can tell," Beckett said. "And I guess I should be looking forward to tonight more."

"We'll make sure that you do _madame_ ," Pierre told her, nodding his head. "Let me take you to your table, I made sure you would get your usual when I saw you'd be joining us tonight."

"We appreciate that," Castle said as they followed the man into the restaurant. They soon reached his preferred table, more towards the back in a quieter corner and he was quick to help Beckett into her seat before Pierre could.

"If there's anything else you might need, please let me know," the man said after handing them their menus.

"Thank you, we'll be sure to," Castle told him with a nod.

"I'm surprised I haven't seen him before," Beckett said, putting down her menu.

"He doesn't work as much anymore, especially on Saturdays," Castle said. He set his down then and said, "The usual?"

Beckett smiled in response to that before a waiter; that they both knew from previous visits; came over with a bottle of wine. She was quiet as he poured it for them both and once they had ordered and were left alone again she said, "You took the liberty of ordering," holding her glass up.

"Of course," Castle said. "Should I give a toast?"

"No, Happy Birthday my love," Beckett told him. "To the next year."

"With you," Castle said before she could move to tap her glass to his. He smiled when she did so and then tapped their glasses together before they drank. "We're going to talk about the girls aren't we?" he asked her as they looked at each other.

"Of course, once we start the appetizer," Beckett told him as she could see their waiter was coming back to them with a plate in hand. She took one of the bruschetta as her husband did and after their first bites she studied him when their gazes went across the table to one another suddenly.

"I was a little surprised," Castle commented when he'd finished his bite.

"That they didn't want to stay at the children's museum?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she thought for a moment before saying, "I think they wanted to see animals more."

"Would you have done the same as a child?" Castle asked.

Beckett took a sip of wine before saying, "Ask my father, I preferred the zoos to everything else when I was their ages. But it was a great week."

"A busy week," Castle said. When his wife nodded he said, "But yeah, fun like we keep saying. Next year though, we can travel."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't want to stay here in the city?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"Because here I know that you're kidding," Castle said simply. "But we have a lot of time to think about that."

"We have our other trip first," Beckett pointed out. "But let's stop there; we've talked about it enough. What about the book?"

"Julia's?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he thought about that and then said, "We should start it and work on it when we can next month." He then paused and said, "I wonder if we shouldn't get back to ours later, towards the end."

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked. " _Because I wouldn't want to have another argument_ -"

"No, I'll be fine, a month off from writing will be a vacation," Castle interrupted her. "And I'll enjoy it but we should finish it before we leave the country." He took a quick sip of wine and then said, "Or else Jay will go ballistic."

"He would," Beckett said, smiling at how seriously her husband had said that. "I'm wondering about the next book."

"Do you still want to do the whole undercover thing?" Castle asked.

"Of course," Beckett replied. "But one slight thing, with the murder we were just going to have it follow what happened in Michipicoten weren't we?"

"You want to change it," Castle said.

"A body being discovered before a costume party?" Beckett suggested.

Before Castle could reply to that their waiter came back with their dishes and he took a few bites before saying, "Sorry, I was hungry too. But I think that could work, I'm thinking displayed?"

"If we make it Halloween that could work," Beckett said with a nod.

"Great, now how's yours?" Castle said.

Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling, Beckett fed him a piece of chicken before saying, "Pretty good."

"Thank you," Castle replied. He then said, "I'm thinking of the girls right now."

"They're eating," Beckett said with a slight smile as he gave her a piece of his steak. "And likely having fun if they can see outside."

"More than likely," Castle said. He smiled to himself before he then said, "Remember when Eliza saw the first animal?"

With that the two were soon starting to discuss their day again, Castle recounting his time with their youngest at the museum and Beckett doing the same when she'd been with Julia. Their conversation about their daughters went through to the end of the meal and after they had paid they left without their usual coffee. They hurried out to the curb and held hands tightly as they waited for one of the yellow cabs to stop at his hailing gesture, needing to get home.

* * *

"I'll have to thank your dad," Castle said after his first sip of coffee. "How'd it come out?" he asked his wife, looking over to her then.

"Incredibly well," Beckett said, licking some of the cream from her upper lip. "I didn't realize you knew how to make Irish coffee."

"Never had whiskey this good to use," Castle said simply. He was surprised when she suddenly stood and he started to get up too when she put her hand on his chest to make him fall back. "No?" he asked, unable to mask the disappointment in his voice.

" _We're not finished with our coffee love_ ," Beckett said with a slight smirk before she left him to go into his office.

"We should talk in Irish way more than we do already," Castle called to her, hearing her opening a drawer. "Ah so you did have a gift," he said when she came back out to him with a white wrapped box in hand. "I thought you were kidding."

Not commenting on that, since she knew he was teasing her, Beckett sat next to him after he took the present and watched him get off the blue ribbon before taking off the lid. She sipped at her coffee, not taking her eyes off of him, wanting to gauge his reaction to what he'd find.

Taking out the book inside, Castle opened it to the first page, seeing that it was a picture of his wife with the girls and Alexis, taken at Christmas. He flipped through the book then, and saw that they were all pictures of the four of them. "This is great," he said. "My girls…" When his wife shot him a look he said, "…And my love, come on Kate."

Shaking her head, Beckett watched him continue to look through the book before she murmured, "Is that all there is?"

Looking over at her in surprise, Castle glanced down at the box and feeling the tissue paper got the sensation of something solid. He took it out and saw there was an envelope, hurriedly opening it since it was unsealed. When he saw the picture of his wife inside he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Setting down her empty coffee cup Beckett took the picture and put it away before she leaned over, kissing her husband deeply. The brief hesitation she expected but the sudden, frantic kissing her back was a little startling in its ferocity though she didn't stop. She let him pull her onto his lap, feeling his hands on her back, nearing the zipper. She allowed him that until he started to grab it and she hurriedly stopped him, pulling away. "Not yet," she told him before reaching up to the bun in her hair.

Castle looked on as she took the comb out and leaned over to set it on the coffee table. His fingers were itching to reach up as her hair tumbled down past her shoulders and he sighed as she closed the gap between them to kiss him. He was a little startled when she suddenly pulled away from him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the bedroom. "Wait let me at least-" he started to say.

"Hurry," Beckett said with a smile as she reached up to hold her hair out of the way. She heard the zipper of her dress being pulled down a second before she felt it and then stepped out of her husband's way before he could touch her. Turning around to him she started to unbutton his shirt saying, "Sit and wait."

Before he could reply, Castle was suddenly alone and he shook his head at the abrupt nature of her leaving. He followed what she'd said though, sitting on the armchair and looking at the door, waiting for her to show back up. After a few seconds though his mind wandered and he recalled the picture she'd given him, gulping heavily as he could remember it in detail even then, closing his eyes to see it there. "Hey," suddenly made him jolt and he looked in front of him to find his wife there, in a long black coat, and her boots and not much else he could easily discern; just like the picture. "You… you were serious about that list?" he managed to choke out as he was gasping for air.

Smiling at his expression, Beckett reached up to the tie of the coat and said, "Did you write anything you really wanted on there?" When he replied with a slightly less strangled, "Everything," she smirked and told him, "Then here's your first fantasy." With that she let the coat fall open, revealing her naked body underneath which she allowed him a few seconds to stare at before she was leaning over. "And this is also your second gift," she whispered as he was quick to slip his hands underneath the black fabric.

"You?" Castle asked, caressing her breasts. When she merely leaned down to kiss him he held onto her tightly, responding to her until they needed to part. "Best gift ever," he said, reaching up to her arms. He helped her get the coat to the floor before she was suddenly kneeling in front of him. "Not-" he said in a slight amount of panic as she was already opening the fly of his trousers.

"I'll take care of you," Beckett said, shooting him a brief look. She didn't wait to see his reaction to that, instead leaning down and taking his erection in her hand. She was quick to then take him into her mouth and proceeded to begin pleasuring him. But while she allowed herself to set a rhythm on him she was careful to pay close attention to his reactions, having thought of how that night would go already and wanting to stick to her plans.

Castle couldn't stop himself, reaching down and tangling his fingers through his wife's hair as he watched her. He had no idea how long she was doing that, the only thing he knew was that time was passing as he was afraid she was going to bring him to the edge. But suddenly she stopped, pulling away, and he slumped back with a groan saying, "You're going to kill me."

"No, just get you ready," Beckett said simply as she stood up. She wasn't surprised when he studied her; in nothing but her boots and pendant; and then jumped up to join her. The second he was kissing her she started to undress him, relieved when he helped her until his shirt was discarded. When they started to stumble to the bed as they shared a series of frantic, brief kisses, she had no idea how the rest of his clothes managed to get off him and in the end found it didn't matter. When he lay back on the bed at her direction she was quick to mount him and she fondled him a little as she hooked her feet over his legs. Since he was sitting up she knew he'd be able to see her still wearing her boots and glancing at him she wasn't too surprised he was staring at them. "They're the right ones?" she asked, nibbling on his lower lip.

"God yes Kate," Castle groaned as she was taking him in hand. He was grasping onto the small of her back before that and when she lowered herself onto the tip of his member that grasp became desperate. But finally her hips were pressing down on him and he felt a sense of relief at feeling her surrounding him. He shuddered as it then came to him how wet exactly she was, and he groaned out, "You want me love."

"I need you Rick," Beckett said. And with that she started to move, rocking back and forth as she and Castle started to kiss. Though she was momentarily distracted by the feel of his tongue slipping past her lips she could still sense him inside her, rigid with his arousal. She moaned as she held him tightly around the neck, eventually having to lean back as her body was already reacting. "I can't… we didn't really…" she said as she realized they'd only exchanged a few kisses since coming back to the loft before getting into the bedroom.

"It was enough," Castle said, feeling bad then he hadn't tried to control himself at least so they'd had some kind of foreplay. "More than enough… for you… you're so fucking hot Kate… wet," he mumbled against her neck before he then proceeded to kiss along the side of it. "Kate…" He felt her falter slightly in her thrusts and he was about to pull back to see what was wrong when she gently led him down to her chest. Looking up at her he brought one of his hands up as the other was giving him leverage to continue to thrust with her. And he then started to lightly caress both breasts, taking turns and making sure he was thorough until he finally bowed his head. At her exalted cry he was hungrily suckling at her, going a little crazy as the rush of pleasure at the sound coupled with the friction constantly between them was nearly too much. It was then he almost wished she hadn't pleasured him but he quickly shoved that thought out of his mind as his wife was whispering to him and he tilted his head up.

Lowering her head to his, Beckett moaned deeply in pleasure with their rough kiss as with some unseen cue they began to move faster and harder. It was little surprise when she felt her body soon having a sheen of sweat on it and she became a little lost to time. She was only aware of the feeling of Castle moving within her, making the aching heat centered at where they were coupled together grow and snake its way through her body. She kept kissing him though he was going back and forth from her lips, neck and breasts, able to tell that he didn't really mind that and enjoying it from the way his own lips were hungry against her skin. She leaned back, making him stop so she could cup his cheeks with her hands. She managed to caress them once and then became a little lost to him as he reached down and cupped her ass. She allowed him to move her faster and harder and everything became a blur.

Castle was in the same situation as her, feeling her tight around him, friction making him throb in his body's search for release. He forgot there was a concept of time, just allowing himself indulgence in Beckett's body, everything he could touch and feel with her until he knew it was becoming way too much to be able to handle. And judging by his wife's haphazard jerking against him he knew she was right there with him. So he suddenly moved, flipping her around onto her back and saying, "Hold on Kate."

Beckett wasn't sure if it was the words, his tone or the abrupt ramming motion he made inside of her with lunging legs but she was lucky she followed his suggestion by wrapping her legs around his waist. A few seconds later, something in her snapped and she was arching her back as hard as she could, crying her husband's name repeatedly until she felt him joining her. Her back seemed to go up at that moment and up and up until she had to wonder if she'd managed to pass out as the sensation didn't stop for a second. But finally she came back to herself to find she'd slowly calmed down but her husband was still moving; her body quick to respond with matching thrusts as best she could do. And it was then she realized he was talking, trying to discern what he said before she did and a soft moan of desire escaped her lips in immediate reaction to him.

"Keep moving with me love… I'm going to fucking make you come," Castle nearly growled to her as he slipped his hand under her hip and tried to move even harder inside of her. He wasn't sure if he was doing enough to get her to reach a second climax but he tried everything he could think of though his mind was dizzy and his body was literally thrumming with the echoes of pleasure from their first orgasms. He kept going though, kept trying to change the angle of his hips, the speed and depth also and suddenly he realized that his wife was starting to lose her rhythm underneath him. "Kate," he breathed out in a quasi question.

"Oh god Rick, I'm going to come… I'm…" Beckett replied to that, just seconds before she actually did. She cried out his name as the ecstasy was swift, rough and powerful crashing through her body, making her writhe underneath him before she suddenly heard her name on his lips being repeated. She held onto him tightly, held him to her as they were moving together but so erratically that the slam of their hips was off beat. She trembled hard at the sound and she turned her head as he pressed his cheek against hers. She had no clue how long she felt him shaking, still trying to thrust, until she stopped what felt very abruptly. She gasped out his name still but eventually forced herself to stop as she held onto him while he rode out his climax. When he rammed into her suddenly her body was swift to respond and she was a little stunned feeling herself reacting quickly to him before he finally ceased and nearly slumped on her. "Good gift?" she said when she was able to speak, smiling as she kissed his temple and then cheek.

Groaning heavily for a moment, Castle pulled back to look at her before he then said, "I haven't finished yet."

"Oh no?" Beckett asked. But she never got an answer as her husband was nearly tearing her boots off before sinking back inside of her again. She wrapped her arms and leg around him as they began to move again while their lips locked together tightly.

* * *

Looking at his wife, Castle said, "What're you thinking Kate?"

Glancing at him then, Beckett smiled and said, "Did you ever watch them race each other down?"

"All the time," Castle said, following her gaze then to the window he'd raised the blinds on for her earlier when; after their second time together; she'd heard the rain. By then it was after midnight and they were in the aftermath of yet another bout, relaxing for the time being. "I loved how one would overtake and then eat the one ahead of it. But I never saw who won, did you?"

"Hmm, no," Beckett said as she shivered slightly when she felt his hand sliding down her abdomen to cup her sex. "Rick," she breathed in joy was his fingertips were lightly brushing against her clit. He did that for a while before she had to tell him, "I need you again."

"This second?" Castle asked, nearly breathless in anticipation as he raised his head. At her nod he felt a rush of joy before he leaned down and crushed his lips to hers, groaning when she was quick to plunge her tongue into his mouth before they were dueling. When they parted finally he moved away and told her when she tried to stop him, "Let me take you like this love," getting on his knees and making her turn around before straddling him.

Though she wanted to protest that position, Beckett lost her objection when her husband whispered into her ear that he would change it, just wanting to start out that way. She nodded to him when he asked if that was alright and she began to move as she would have to. At their exhalations in response to feeling one another instantly with that she closed her eyes tightly as she forced herself to work up to a harder rhythm immediately. When she managed to get there she was suddenly taken aback by the feel of Castle's hands on her breasts. "That's why you wanted this," she breathed out. When he turned his head and started to kiss at the shell of her ear in response she shivered, the touch of his lips sending a thrill racing down her spine to join the feel of their bodies moving together in her sex. "Rick…" she sighed deeply as he fondled her for a bit before her eyes shot open.

"Just… let me feel you," Castle said as his fingertips were again at her clit. He rubbed gently, carefully before he made her stop and had her lay back. "You wanted-" he started to say. When she merely covered his mouth with her hand he was quick to move so he could enter her, groaning at the same time she did with their bodies coupled again. He started to move without any hesitation then and stared into his wife's eyes deeply as he did so, seeing her hand coming up to cup his cheek. The feel of her around him yet again hadn't dulled after the previous times and he was sure he wasn't going to get tired of her. It was then he noticed she had her leg wrapped up high on his side. Each time he sank into her he was deep, getting to sense more of her before he withdrew, only to repeat the motion again. He tried to keep his gaze on her but she was soon pushing herself up on her elbows so their lips could meet. It made his head spin at how she was able to hold that position as their kisses were fast and rough, numerous in a short amount of time. But he knew that she was fine as she leaned up, biting at his earlobe. The sensation shot straight through his body and he had a delirious thought that he could easily catch on fire from her touch.

Not knowing her husband was going through that then, Beckett reached down with hand and clasped his ass, making him move faster as she bit a little hard at her lower lip. "Oh love… yess…" she sighed, tilting her head back as he nearly bit at her neck he'd been kissing at the same time. He slammed against her and she moaned his name when he was able to get even deeper than before and she held onto him tightly, not sure how much she'd be able to take. But finally things eased and she realized he had slowed down which made her quickly look at him.

"It's too soon," Castle said. When he saw the slightly annoyed expression on her face he begged her, "Just let me for a little Kate." He was able to see her agree to that and he kept things slower for as long as he could stand; not sure of how much time passed for that. He then began to thrust roughly again and as he did that he crushed Beckett's lips under his own, not too surprised when she was rushing to respond to him. As soon as she did he plunged his tongue into her mouth and stroked at hers before they were tilting their heads back and forth. He was feeling a hard rush of pleasure filling him completely and he thought for a moment that he was about to reach his peak. But he was able to move for some time before he felt Beckett pulling away and looking down at his wife he saw that she was close. He hesitated for a moment, thinking it was still too soon for them to get to that point before he heard her start to speak.

"Oh… I'm… it's been… it's been long enough…" Beckett managed to say to him, her lips close to his ear. "I want to come Rick, let me," she nearly begged him, not caring she was since she'd done that many times before. When he brushed his lips to hers she had her reply and she felt her body was holding itself taut before he was sucking at her pulse. It was permission for herself to lose control and she lost it rapturously, arching her back towards him as she froze in an instant and then thrust in a crazy cadence she had no power over. She was crying out her husband's name, begging him to fuck her again and telling him not to stop. She was vaguely aware of her husband's voice joining hers but couldn't make out anything as she was too focused on the pleasure racking her body.

Feeling his own form working to make sure that he was still moving, Castle groaned his wife's name hard over and over. The feel of her was intense and he didn't think it would end; didn't want it to; until he was distracted by her falling back to the bed beneath him. Seeing that she had stopped he was moving hard a few more times until finally he was still and he had to clutch at the bed his hands were on to keep from collapsing onto her. "Love," he breathed when he finally had enough strength to talk. He leaned down and took her lips with his own and they kissed as deeply as they could for as long as possible until they slowly parted. "Best birthday ever," he whispered against her lips, wanting to feel them brushing together.

"Hmm, you say that every year," Beckett said in pleasure as he lay next to her.

"More so this time, since we're together and we got to celebrate with the girls," Castle said before he pressed his lips to her forehead. He leaned his head down to her lips and they kissed, that time sensuously for as long as they could before parting. But he couldn't stay away for long and was relieved when she couldn't either, meeting him for another. That turned into a third and finally a forth before they had to stop and breathe. "I love you Kate," he said, staring into her eyes.

"I love you too Rick, so much," Beckett said, smiling at him. She caressed his cheek before she lay on her back, the sound of the rain reaching them again. She sighed and said, "I love that sound."

"I know that from experience," Castle responded, laying his hand on her abdomen. "So I love the sound too."

"Pervert," Beckett said, smiling as she recalled the times she would find herself needing her husband during a storm. She shivered when a while later she felt Castle's fingers on her stomach, moving over her skin in what seemed like a trickling motion. "Rick?" she asked, looking at him. He didn't respond to that so she bit her lower lip hard as the sensation was quick to snake down further to her sex, making every inch of her feel like she was awakening. "I think it's been long enough," she told him before she got up.

Sitting up with her and holding onto her hips Castle nodded and said, "It has been." At that moment she lowered herself onto him and he groaned before telling her, " _I love you, let me show you_ Kate. _Let me worship you_."

Smiling at his words, Beckett replied, " _I'll show you how much I love you_ Rick _, I adore you_."

And with that the two proceeded to show each other their desire for one another, their love and adoration as well while they moved as one. They couldn't stop, needing to feel each other and reassure the other that they were together, their separation a thing of the past. They did so eagerly and felt their joy in every caress, kiss and thrust of their bodies. They'd desired each other steadily through the night and they came together each time with the knowledge that they would never stop feeling that way. Castle and Beckett would continue that as things became more a celebration of them instead of just his birthday, both taking the utmost satisfaction in one another as the first of April dawned outside with them beginning to make love yet again hungrily, elatedly and passionately.


End file.
